3.92 AVERAGE


I wish I would have read this during the summer after Ian died. Didion writes of grief and acceptance (and lack of acceptance) in the most viscerally real way. It was like going back in time, like, yeah I remember feeling like that, and like that, and like that, which made it difficult to read at times, which is why I took it slow. I think everyone who has lost someone and everyone whose loved one has lost someone should read this.
Thank you for gifting me this, Ariel
emotional reflective sad medium-paced

I definitely see the hype now around Didion’s prose. This is the first work by her that I read and I really enjoyed it. Truly a powerful reflection on grief. I found the second half of the book resonating more than the first. Especially the parts around the assumption of the funeral being the hardest part, and measuring that first year of grief based on the events surrounding the death of your loved one. This had been on my TBR for a while, but I chose to wait until I was in a better spot in my grief journey to start this. I’m glad I waited, this still brought a lot up for me even with the grace of time. I’d definitely recommend for when others feel like they are ready to address their grief head on. 

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
emotional informative sad medium-paced

All the beautiful parts got drowned in the other boring text. The beautiful was really beautiful. The rest? No thanks.
emotional medium-paced

Im sure the book is well written, and I did found some parts beautiful and important, but I struggle to connect with a story where name-dropping and luxury are casually presented as the core of a relationship. Similar to the feeling I got from Kim Gordon’s biography: privilege is shaping and such shapes don’t interest me much. 
emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

This book made me feel so much
slow-paced