Read this when
The Year of Magical Thinking
'You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.' If you can't give away their shoes yet, nothing is wrong with you. You're grieving.
Who it's for
Didion, a famously precise and controlled writer, records how grief after her husband's sudden death at the dinner table undermines all that control, while her daughter lies in intensive care.
Feelings it meets
What it is
Joan Didion's 2005 memoir chronicles the year after the sudden death of her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, in 2003. It also covers the serious illnesses of their daughter Quintana, who was critically ill with pneumonia and septic shock around the time of his death and later suffered a head injury.
Where to find it
In print (Vintage/Knopf); widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Not public domain.
Before you start
Heads up: Sudden death of a spouse; ICU stays.
Age: Ages 16+
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;Ecclesiastes 3:4, Ecclesiastes 3:4
