The Year of Magical Thinking

"I heard about Quintana shortly after I read this book and was devastated by the news. This was my first book that I had read by her. I hadn’t heard of Let me tell you what I mean. I was thinking of reading Blue nights. Have you read that one?"

"A raw account of grief following a traumatic year. A great read for anyone that has endured grief and mourning. "

"Beautiful"

"Pretty heart wrenching"

"I think I truly expected something more from this book. More moving, more wise, more takeaway? I’m not sure what I expected, but I don’t think I found it here. That being said, I can’t imagine writing about the things she went through and having a stranger say the written recall of the experience was missing something. Woof. "

"Didion is a wonderful writer and her journey through grief is very relatable, but not sure of the title, even though it is mentioned in the narrative."

"One of my all time favorites.A meditation on death and life that must be experienced through the master’s words. Joan Didion accomplishes some truly astonishing. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟"

"I asked a friend recently if she'd read any Didion, and she said no because she's heard Didion "hits you like a train." While a part of me wanted to combat this in an effort to convince her to experience one of my favorite writers, I couldn't lie. Didion's work absolutely hits you like a train. <br/><br/>I don't think I'd ever read anything but poetry about grief before this. And what a way to first experience the genre. Didion is raw and honest and real. The idea many readers have of her is her being powerful and certain of herself and logical but not lacking creativity. The Didion I saw in this work was the most vulnerable I've experienced so far. The titular concept of magical thinking may seem un-Didion, but that couldn't be further from the truth. A woman who felt and witnessed every event in her life with such specificity and examination of emotion couldn't help but love the same way. <br/><br/>If I were to include every quote and passage that had me staring into space, it would discourage you from reading the book and that is the last thing I want. Even if you haven't experienced a recent loss or a loss at all, there is nothing that is more worth the read. Regardless, I'll leave you with two of my favorites, carefully chosen:<br/><br/>"What would I give to be able to discuss this with John? / What would I give to be able to discuss anything at all with John? What would I give to be able to say one small thing that made him happy? What would that one small thing be? If I had said it in time would it have worked?"<br/><br/>"I did not believe in the resurrection of the body but I still believed that given the right circumstances he would come back.""

"Would’ve preferred to read rather than listen to the audiobook - this is the kind of text that needs pauses for self-reflection, remembrance, and contemplation."

"Don't read if you're actually grieving. Not helpful."