The Year of Magical Thinking

i cant explain how much this book means to me. i saw reflections of my grief after losing my father in her writing. when you lose someone you love so much, you feel almost alone in your grief..you struggle with it. mrs. didion articulated aspects of hers that mirrored my own and to see those same feelings i had felt..written by someone else brought me an odd sense of peace. its not an easy read....more

i cant explain how much this book means to me. i saw reflections of my grief after losing my father in her writing. when you lose someone you love so much, you feel almost alone in your grief..you struggle with it. mrs. didion articulated aspects of hers that mirrored my own and to see those same feelings i had felt..written by someone else brought me an odd sense of peace. its not an easy read. i cried my way through it, but its an incredibly moving narrative that i could readily identify with.   hide

A wonderful, wonderful book--I finished it with a feeling of gratitude, almost, grateful this book had been written and shared. That this private experience, of trauma and aftermath, had been explored so deeply and cataloged so honestly. Many reviews I read of this book warned that it's not as structurally elegant as many of Didion's other books, and while that's true, this...more

A wonderful, wonderful book--I finished it with a feeling of gratitude, almost, grateful this book had been written and shared. That this private experience, of trauma and aftermath, had been explored so deeply and cataloged so honestly. Many reviews I read of this book warned that it's not as structurally elegant as many of Didion's other books, and while that's true, this book is utterly different. It's more of a case-study than a memoir. Again the word 'catalog' jumps to mind. An honest account of grief, then mourning, and the realization at the end of both the year and the retelling of it that the process is not complete. She has no neatly-wrapped-up ending to hand us. And that's perfectly okay with me.   hide

This book was great. Whenever it is I get around to writing a novel myself, I want it to match the clarity that Didion has. She writes compellingly, without feeling repetitive, about her own processes of grief. The memoir is self-aware without seeking pity, insightful without oversharing. It makes me want to read more Didion, especially her younger work, to see how her late husband influenced...more

This book was great. Whenever it is I get around to writing a novel myself, I want it to match the clarity that Didion has. She writes compellingly, without feeling repetitive, about her own processes of grief. The memoir is self-aware without seeking pity, insightful without oversharing. It makes me want to read more Didion, especially her younger work, to see how her late husband influenced her style. The only downside here: Didion uses passages from poems or lines from elsewhere that stick to her a bit too much as a crutch. It's the only way in this book feels like it beats a dead horse.   hide

I was once told, in regards to storytelling, that people can only handle so much sadness. I understand this bit of wisdom much better after reading Didion. Life is full of absurdity, and an entire year without a single smile, giggle or amusement to break up the grief would've resulted not in a book, but in medication and hospitalization. It's this sort of one-sidedness that...more

I was once told, in regards to storytelling, that people can only handle so much sadness. I understand this bit of wisdom much better after reading Didion. Life is full of absurdity, and an entire year without a single smile, giggle or amusement to break up the grief would've resulted not in a book, but in medication and hospitalization. It's this sort of one-sidedness that perpetuates the myth of the grief process.   hide

This is an author's account of the grief and mourning she experienced during the year after the death of her husband. It is very personal and introspective,but she also incorporated medical and psychological research into her writing, which gives her work an almost clinical flavor at times. While trying to cope with her husband's death, she also has to deal with her daughter's life-threatening...more

This is an author's account of the grief and mourning she experienced during the year after the death of her husband. It is very personal and introspective,but she also incorporated medical and psychological research into her writing, which gives her work an almost clinical flavor at times. While trying to cope with her husband's death, she also has to deal with her daughter's life-threatening illness, which interferes with the course of her grief and the healing process. It is bound to become a classic work on the grief encountered after the loss of a loved one, but still, I am not sure it should be recommended for others immediately experiencing a similar loss. It may just be too close for comfort.   hide

Had I not experienced loss, I'm sure I would have hated this book since on the surface Joan Didion comes across as being very self-absorbed and elitist ... not really qualities that the writer or reader probably want to evoke from this type of book. But this book was a catharsis for HER to help her work through her grief and pain. Not a self-help book for others who have lost loved ones....more

Had I not experienced loss, I'm sure I would have hated this book since on the surface Joan Didion comes across as being very self-absorbed and elitist ... not really qualities that the writer or reader probably want to evoke from this type of book. But this book was a catharsis for HER to help her work through her grief and pain. Not a self-help book for others who have lost loved ones. While much of the book was very anticeptic, her repetitive and obsessive avoidance of grieving is painfully obvious. I kept wanting her to feel, to break down, to cry, to begin the grieve. For a writer, I'm sure this was the best way for her to process her year of "disbelief." For me, it gave me the chance to think about loved ones that I've lost and realize that maybe I'm in a better place than I thought I was.   hide

Ugh! I have to say that this book was at least "OK", because we are talking about somebody's life experience and that must always be respected...in the very least. On that note, I found it to be very fragmented. There were bright spots sure, but it was mostly a grey canvas of "Huh?" But maybe it's supposed to be that way. I wouldn't know. I have never had this kind of grieving...more

Ugh! I have to say that this book was at least "OK", because we are talking about somebody's life experience and that must always be respected...in the very least. On that note, I found it to be very fragmented. There were bright spots sure, but it was mostly a grey canvas of "Huh?" But maybe it's supposed to be that way. I wouldn't know. I have never had this kind of grieving experience. Does anyone know the story, "The Emperor's New Clothes"? It's about these rascals who convince the conceited Emperor to wear "clothes" which can only be seen if you are not a fool, otherwise, the Emperor appears naked. Well, the point is there are no clothes and he really is naked and yet all of his advisors and subjects "ooh" and "aah" and say how exquisite his new clothes are. It is only during a parade of sorts that a boy shouts out, "The Emperor is NAKED!" (in the Steven Spielberg rendition, anyhow). That's how I feel about this book. How could it get these rave reviews? Perhaps the reviewers are all of Didion's friends. She is afterall, quite established and respected in the literary world. I just can't help feeling like that little boy...Well, at least they got Vanessa Redgraves to star in her one-woman play based on the book. And to Didion's credit, she's much more likeable in her TV interviews. I wasn't thrilled with the book, but I can still respect and admire her.   hide

I was given this book to read because I am a widow and unbelievably have a very sick daughter in hospital as I write this. Of course I can relate and at times I had to put it down for the emotion was much to strong. I would have to say if I wasn't in my situation I probably would not liked that book at all. Our lives are so different and the way she deals with everything is so different from me....more

I was given this book to read because I am a widow and unbelievably have a very sick daughter in hospital as I write this. Of course I can relate and at times I had to put it down for the emotion was much to strong. I would have to say if I wasn't in my situation I probably would not liked that book at all. Our lives are so different and the way she deals with everything is so different from me. I have read other breavement books and related to them almost completely. If it just makes everyone realize how fragile life is and how you can loose a spouse with the flick of a switch, that is how my husband's death was described to me, gone with the the flick of a switch. It is interesting to read most of the other reviews and see that most people are not widowed.   hide

If uncontrollable sobbing is the order of the day, then this book is the perfect companion. Didion’s memoir traces her thought process during the year following her husband’s sudden death due to a heart attack. Their grown daughter was also in the hospital at the time, fighting death. This is an insightful glance into the grief process, and it is an honest account of the irrational...more

If uncontrollable sobbing is the order of the day, then this book is the perfect companion. Didion’s memoir traces her thought process during the year following her husband’s sudden death due to a heart attack. Their grown daughter was also in the hospital at the time, fighting death. This is an insightful glance into the grief process, and it is an honest account of the irrational but necessary progress of one’s thoughts after such a loss. Moreover, I found that Didion explored the way we think about the universe – the way we believe (or disbelieve) in ourselves, in God. This book definitely made an impression on me. Favorite Quote: “The way I write is who I am, or have become, yet this is a case in which I wish I had instead of words and their rhythms a cutting room, equipped with an Avid, a digital editing system on which I could touch a key and collapse the sequence of time, show you simultaneously all the frames of memory that come to me now, let you pick the takes, the marginally different expressions, the variant readings of the same lines. This is a case in which I need more than words to find the meaning. This is a case in which I need whatever it is I think or believe to be penetrable, if only for myself.”   hide