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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Wow! I read this book in a few hours. The author was vacationing in Sri Lanka with her Husband, two Sons and her Parents on December 26, 2004 when the Tsunami hit. Her descriptions of being tossed around in the water are so vivid, you could almost be there. Her journey through grief over the next several years is heart wrenching but also somewhat uplifting when she finally allows herself to relish her memories.
I'm sure we've all thought about what would happen if your family were suddenly killed, how would you react, would you run screaming through the streets, would you pace back and forth crying softly to yourself or would you find solace in alcohol and pills? The author has painted a picture so clearly of her grief and torment after the Tsunami that you could almost think you were with her through that time.
I'm so glad that I read this book.
I'm sure we've all thought about what would happen if your family were suddenly killed, how would you react, would you run screaming through the streets, would you pace back and forth crying softly to yourself or would you find solace in alcohol and pills? The author has painted a picture so clearly of her grief and torment after the Tsunami that you could almost think you were with her through that time.
I'm so glad that I read this book.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I found the first 50 or so pages gripping as we get a first hand account of the 2004 tsunami. After that, however, we get 175 pages of grief, pain, and nostalgia for what was lost. That's to be expected after such a tragic event, but it's very tough to read. I don't mean to sound heartless, but I didn't get much from this and I cannot recommend the book.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
This is a very well written memoir about an incredibly sad and tragic event and the author’s years of grief in the aftermath. It reminds me of Joan Didion’s memoirs about the deaths of her husband and daughter (and Sonali Deraniyagala seems to be as rich as Joan Didion too, similarly without mentioning it). This book is a microcosm of the author’s grief. I had to take it in small bits because it’s so wrenching. I don’t know what else to say except that I learned when googling more about Deraniyagala that after the publication of this memoir she meets and falls in love with Fiona Shaw and that’s a nice thing.
sad
tense
medium-paced
All I can say is that my husband walked by just as I finished this book, and when I showed him the picture of the gorgeous, gorgeous Sonali Deraniyagala,and explained the completeness of her loss on that December morning in Sri Lanka, I started to cry.
For a slim volume, there is so much pain and sorrow here. One might ask, why read such a book? And I answer, for the beauty.
As opposed to the austere grief Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking", this memoir of survival is filled with recollections about of a young family and their passionate love of nature and of each other. Eventually--and how long the journey--the clichéd but valiant tincture of time, and a superb therapist, bring Sonali to a place where the memories do not hurt; they sustain. The chapter on blue whales is one of the most beautiful passages I have ever read. So now, where yesterday I thought that this would be no book for young parents, I think I must recommend this to them, too, for they will relate to the intensity of a child's wonder and understand how grief and joy can live, entwined like conjoined twins, deep in one's heart.
For a slim volume, there is so much pain and sorrow here. One might ask, why read such a book? And I answer, for the beauty.
As opposed to the austere grief Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking", this memoir of survival is filled with recollections about of a young family and their passionate love of nature and of each other. Eventually--and how long the journey--the clichéd but valiant tincture of time, and a superb therapist, bring Sonali to a place where the memories do not hurt; they sustain. The chapter on blue whales is one of the most beautiful passages I have ever read. So now, where yesterday I thought that this would be no book for young parents, I think I must recommend this to them, too, for they will relate to the intensity of a child's wonder and understand how grief and joy can live, entwined like conjoined twins, deep in one's heart.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced