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ariel_bloomer 's review for:
Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death
by Irvin D. Yalom
This is actually my second time reading this book. I originally read it in 2009 as part of a college course on death, but reading it now has given it much greater meaning as it deals with thought about existence and mortality that became more present after college graduation and leaving the bastion of infinite vitality that college dorms tend to be.
Reading this in tandem with the Dalai Lama's "The Art of Happiness" was a happy accident, as the two texts dovetail well in their content and ideas-- though Yalom comes form a strictly secular perspective.
I felt that Yalom got repetitive in places, harkening back to stories he'd already told us in order to make another point about them (my grandparents do this as well, come to think of it), but I'm giving it five stars anyway because like some other collegiate texts I loved, the ideas Yalom presented keep appearing elsewhere (in interactions with friends, in mining my own personal history, and in the stories I'm reading). When someone is able to take something theoretical and turn it into an understandable framework for analyzing life, love, and literature among other things, I find tremendous value in that.
Reading this in tandem with the Dalai Lama's "The Art of Happiness" was a happy accident, as the two texts dovetail well in their content and ideas-- though Yalom comes form a strictly secular perspective.
I felt that Yalom got repetitive in places, harkening back to stories he'd already told us in order to make another point about them (my grandparents do this as well, come to think of it), but I'm giving it five stars anyway because like some other collegiate texts I loved, the ideas Yalom presented keep appearing elsewhere (in interactions with friends, in mining my own personal history, and in the stories I'm reading). When someone is able to take something theoretical and turn it into an understandable framework for analyzing life, love, and literature among other things, I find tremendous value in that.