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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
i am the person that sends year of magical thinking to someone who is grieving. sometimes the importance of seeing your pain and grief reflected back to you is the thing that will hold it at bay for a even just a moment. i continually look to see how other artists/writers confront, explain, react to grief. it's never the same but there are always threads that connect. and at some point you realize you need more than one perspective as each encounter with grief shifts your own associations and reactions.
adichie's notes capture the raw disbelief and anger and confusion precisely. as precisely as one can express a completely imprecise time.
there are many things i think we need to do a better job at discussing as a culture or as humans. grief is one of those things. this book is required reading to that end.
adichie's notes capture the raw disbelief and anger and confusion precisely. as precisely as one can express a completely imprecise time.
there are many things i think we need to do a better job at discussing as a culture or as humans. grief is one of those things. this book is required reading to that end.
I sat under a tree today in the perfect weather and read the entirety of this gut twisting read that felt so familiar even though I’ve been fortunate to not experience this type of grief. But the feelings of words being hollow and the draining aspect of grieving were translatable for my recent grief experiences. Now I have a book to give to friends in terrible times. Again, Adichie amazes me and is a genius.
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I so enjoy Adichie’s writing. Her exploration of grief is beautifully vulnerable and candid. Her point about your greatest anticipated grief being a relief was something I will continue reflecting on. It made sense of something I have always felt but never considered to articulate, nor dared to.
A year ago, I'm not sure I could've read this book, grief too fresh, but now I have and it's very much a shared thing. The author speaks with brevity and connection.
I received Notes on Grief from a Goodreads Giveaway. I think that I will refer to this short book during my own times of loss and grief.
The book is an accounting of the author's feelings in the aftermath of her father's unexpected death during the pandemic. It is also a tribute to her father and her family. Beautifully written and deeply personal.
I liked her take on the standard words of condolences in Chapter 10 (21): "Demise"; "He is resting."; and especially "He is in a better place." These too have "rankled" me.
"For the rest of my life, I will live with my hands outstretched for things that are no longer there." (42)
Second reading: August 2024
This book is so profound. I wish that I could write something like this for those I have lost: my spouse, my parents. I would like to share the book with others, but I don't want to let it out of my possession, either.
The book is an accounting of the author's feelings in the aftermath of her father's unexpected death during the pandemic. It is also a tribute to her father and her family. Beautifully written and deeply personal.
I liked her take on the standard words of condolences in Chapter 10 (21): "Demise"; "He is resting."; and especially "He is in a better place." These too have "rankled" me.
"For the rest of my life, I will live with my hands outstretched for things that are no longer there." (42)
Second reading: August 2024
This book is so profound. I wish that I could write something like this for those I have lost: my spouse, my parents. I would like to share the book with others, but I don't want to let it out of my possession, either.
In a year of my own grief I found this-- and it was such a kindred nod to what I've felt and thought. It's a lovely, small book -- quiet and unassuming. The author's raw grief is shared-- her broken heart cracked wide open. I wish I could tell her how that generous act was received by this reader.
emotional
sad
fast-paced
She is as exact and clear eyed as Susan Sontag at her best, in writing about her own lived emotional experience with the loss of her Father. I read this because I lost my own much-loved Father recently. Even though we come from places that are a world apart, I was able to recognize my own grief experience and also understand her grief. It was right there in the writing, pain, loss, doubts, anger, tallies up as exact as a bill.
To rate a book on grief with five stars, feels insensitive and indifferent. So I am not going to rate it. I am on the outside peeking in to how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie dealt with the passing of her father during a time when the world was already hurting. There are alot of lessons to be learned from her words and I am glad she chose to share this testimony with us. With every turn of the page, you realize the importance of just letting yourself feel everything you need to feel. This book is an admirable tribute to her dad, his memory, and to the process of grief.