tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post113382153064830584..comments2023-12-22T19:52:13.198-05:00Comments on Fernham: Joan Didion’s Year of Magical ThinkingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03281027116636227323noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post-81541873860913470822010-11-19T04:01:08.916-05:002010-11-19T04:01:08.916-05:00Hi, well be sensible, well-all describedHi, well be sensible, well-all describedorder viagra onlinehttp://www.aiesec.fi/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post-1137870131806343382006-01-21T14:02:00.000-05:002006-01-21T14:02:00.000-05:00I've read the book, and I've read other Didion pie...I've read the book, and I've read other Didion pieces. Certainly, she can write. Unfortunately, she is not so good at grieving. This woman is terrified of her feelings. She says next to nothing about how she FEELS about her husband's death and her daughter's illness. She only talks about what she THINKS. This "Magical Thinking" is just another defense mechanism. Pathetic, really.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post-1137870097674023832006-01-21T14:01:00.000-05:002006-01-21T14:01:00.000-05:00I've read the book, and I've read other Didion pie...I've read the book, and I've read other Didion pieces. Certainly, she can write. Unfortunately, she is not so good at grieving. This woman is terrified of her feelings. She says next to nothing about how she FEELS about her husband's death and her daughter's illness. She only talks about what she THINKS. This "Magical Thinking" is just another defense mechanism. Pathetic, really.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post-1133919160059875272005-12-06T20:32:00.000-05:002005-12-06T20:32:00.000-05:00Thanks to all of you for such nice words! Yes, Gen...Thanks to all of you for such nice words! <BR/><BR/>Yes, Genevieve, it's worth getting a hold of, and, as you say, it seems a book to keep around--as one makes sure there's always Tylenol. When the big loss comes, I know I will turn back to her.<BR/><BR/>Thanks Patty & Bookdwarf, too! I'm always so happy to have comments!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03281027116636227323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post-1133908251865790722005-12-06T17:30:00.000-05:002005-12-06T17:30:00.000-05:00This is a beautiful post. I think you really got ...This is a beautiful post. I think you really got to the heart of why Didion's book is so powerful and in a way I was unable to express.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post-1133878658140644902005-12-06T09:17:00.000-05:002005-12-06T09:17:00.000-05:00I just want to say, first of all, how much I enjoy...I just want to say, first of all, how much I enjoy this blog -- being the huge V. Woolf fan that I am.<BR/><BR/>Second, I had much the same reaction to Didion's Year of Magical Thinking that you had. I saw her read in D.C. and was struck by how fragile she looked -- which was such a contrast to how I have always perceived her as a writer. When I teach her essays -- "On Self-Respect," for example-- I always end up telling my students that it would terrify me to be sitting next to Didion at a dinner party;her "steeliness" (I think that's the word you use) has intimidated me over the years. So I was really moved by such an intimate portrait of her marriage. It is a book that richly deserves the attention it is receiving.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10246709.post-1133824860194540882005-12-05T18:21:00.000-05:002005-12-05T18:21:00.000-05:00I'm hoping to get hold of this very soon - though ...I'm hoping to get hold of this very soon - though I have read probably quite enough accounts of grief, it's instructive to read about how really connected people grieve. I have been friends over the years with a large, exemplary family where the parents' relationship was quite intense by comparison with anyone I know - one of them is now dead, and the grieving process Brenda has been through is probably comparable to Didion's, despite her large family.<BR/>It's an awe-inspiring thing to observe, even from a distance.<BR/><BR/>I've been caught short a few times by the force of the emotions one experiences at times of sudden change and loss, including the loss of a second cousin, the same age as my own children, to (gulp) terrorism in the bombing on Bali in 2002.<BR/>There's something selfish in me, I think, that wants to be prepared for these things. I think I come from a family where grief was pushed aside too often - living with a handicapped family member forces you to manage your ongoing grief rather than be overwhelmed by it, so it's important for me to have direction from others at times.genevievehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02895689949182365454noreply@blogger.com