Erin's pick

The suck

I was struck over and over again by Didion's description of "the vortex" as if these memories of home and family life were a black hole, dangerous and difficult to escape. Yet, for me, those stories were some of the best reading of the whole book. They provided the back story we needed to understand the family relationships. Do you think the vortex provided any positive purpose for Didion? Or did she simply recount those episodes as a good writer for our benefit?

heart trouble

Didion and her husband seemed to react very differently to his heart condition ("they call it the widow-maker"). Was she unwilling to face the severity of his condition? If so how did that influence her grieving process after his death?

Magical thinking

Do you think the term "magical thinking" is a good description of Didion's mind beset by grief? What was magical about it? Have you ever experienced anything like this, as a consistent thought pattern or as a momentary occurrence?

Words of comfort

kc asked in a previous comment about the messages families find most comforting in the midst of funeral services.

What messages about life/death/John do you think Didion most needed to hear from her friends and family? What messages did she most consistently tell herself?

What have you most needed to hear when grieving a loved one?

Graphic Storytelling

We encountered "graphic" in a different way this month. Didion was intent on sharing with us precise details about the occurrence of John's death and Quintana's illness(es), letting the reader expereince the scene first hand.

She also seemed moved by grief to gather information, via Internet, reference materials, Doctor friends and by hounding hospital staff. Did you appreciate the vividness of the scenes she described and her explanations of all the medicine involved?

In the midst of life we are in death

We begin with Joan Didion, "The Year of Magical Thinking"

What are your first impressions of the book as a whole? Why do you think Didion wrote it? What were her motivations? What did it accomplish for her to put an intensely private and personal story out for all the world to see? Could you imagine doing the same thing?