“A very moving book. Joan Didion never becomes completely unhinged by the sudden death of her husband, and we never see her really break down as she honestly and openly describes her actions and thought processes as she copes with his loss and the severe illness of her only child. Rather, she is unmoored by his absence, as if the biggest feature in the map of her life were suddenly erased and she has problems recognizing how to be in the world. The process is slow and difficult and is by no means contained within this book; the year of magical thinking may well turn into a decade.”
“First part was good but then it was just too... i dont know .... boring.....”
“I didn' really want to read this; I thought it would be too sad. Yes, it is sad, but I find Didion's descriptions of her feelings very moving. I can understand her way of thinking about her husband, "if I don't go through his clothes, he'll be back". And her mantra, "you're safe, I'm here", provides a false sense of normalcy. Jane”
“I liked this book, it was inspirational and sad.”
“This book scared the hell out of me and put me in my own magical state of stitching back together my life with my husband. My husband survived a major heart attack - the same "widowmaker" that killed Joan Didion's husband. I saw my future self in Didion's journey to acceptance. Most profound for me was her statement that John knew how he was going to die. That's almost too much knowledge, and obviously she denied it until after he was gone. In so doing I think she unwittingly isolated him. After his first heart attack he knew something she didn't want to know and wouldn't or couldn't share with him. I think she realized too late that he was lonely. The lesson I take is to accept and believe my husband's new near-death reality and accompany him. We are all walking toward death and hopefully living with joy along the way. But some, like Didion's husband and mine, have jumped ahead. Didion taught me how important it is to try to keep up.”
“Amazing book...almost painful to read. I cannot imagine losing your companion of so many years, in conjunction with dealing with the serious illness & eventual death of your only child. I really felt her grief.”
