7.14.2009

Joan






I decided to reread Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking” the other day. (One of the perks of working in a library) I love her prose. The book is about the loss of her husband and the illness of her daughter Quintana Roo. Her husband has a heart attack at the dinner table one evening and cannot be resuscitated. The book ends with Joan’s daughter still living but unfortunately Quintana is plagued with illness until her death at age 39. This book is heavy; it forces the reader to grapple with aspects of life and death that they may not wish to confront. But I’m not reading the book to sink into the depths of despair instead I’m reading it for the opposite reason, to remind myself to appreciate life, to remember that things aren’t so bad, to remind myself that I’m lucky. Joan loses her whole immediate family in less than two years time, yet she survives…

1 comment:

  1. I love these photos of her, and I've heard that "The Year of Magical Thinking" is wonderful. Time for a run to the library...

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