What I read in February 2023
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links for Bookshop.org. I’ll earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
This February seemed to come and go faster than years past. And except for the occasional ice storm or two, it wasn’t too dreary to get through. I am feeling optimistic that spring is on its way and we’ll be enjoying many more sunnier days before we know it. I am counting down the days until I can be back outside with a good book on a warm summer night.
I anticipated to read more in February given the weather, but I was sick for two weeks which meant I replaced my reading habit with a few TV shows. Now I’m balancing my time between watching The Last of Us and starting the next read for March book club.
I’m pleased to share I checked off not one — but TWO books — from my 2023 reading challenge in February. And these books are very much in opposite genres. I guess you need a lighter read to balance out the heavy ones!
Books read in February
Book review: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
I picked this book up almost a year ago at a free community event for caregivers at my local public library I attended with my aunt. At this time, my family was navigating finding housing for my dad. As he’s gotten older, he’s needed a little more support with things like going to doctor’s appointments (although he’ll be the first to tell you he’s not an ol’ fossil yet). Anyways — he eventually moved closer to me and I began my journey of transitioning into caregiving (with the support of my sister and family).
The Year of Magical Thinking is a memoir about Joan Didion’s experiences losing her husband unexpectedly while also caring for her daughter who was in the hospital at the same time (I believe she was either sedated or in a coma at the time of her father’s death). It’s truly a double-whammy of tragedies to happen to a person all at once and her story gave me more perspective about what it’s like to lose a life partner. While I haven’t faced that experience personally, I think of my boyfriend’s dad and stepmom who are in the midst of a similar story as Joan’s. My boyfriend’s dad had a major brain injury at the end of last summer and has been in at-home hospice since before Christmas. To say the least, The Year of Magical Thinking came into my life at the right time and gave me comfort knowing I’m not alone when the unexpected unfolds.
There’s a point in the book where Joan reflected on how one day she realized the person she’d normally tell everything to right away — like a funny story or something that happened to the neighbors down the street — was simply no longer there to listen. That emptiness sat with me. I imagined for a moment how hard it would be to be in that moment in my own life and it’s just heartbreaking to think about. I suppose that’s why we seem to learn how precious life is once it’s not there.
I didn’t pick up this book knowing what it was about or really looking for any answers. I simply read it to gain more perspective. And perspective is what I gained from Joan Didion’s year of magical thinking.
