I had seen the mixed reviews of this book, but decided to give it a try. Sadly, it was not worth my time. The author does have some special moments in her book that you can really connect to, but they are very few and far between. In fact, the majority of the book is spent in excruciating details of her privileged life and vacations with her family. It's almost as if she goes out of her way to "brag" about her lifestyle and left me feeling alienated unless I was in the "in" crowd of NY and CA. For instance, she can't just say she walked her dog. She has to say she walked her "Bouvier", which I had to google to even figure out what breed she was referring to. The sad part is after all these ridiculous details, she never sums up her point or what she's learned- or if she does, it's lost in the repetition of all her memories. The good parts could have been summed up in about 15 minutes--so the rest of the time it is a waste. I did suffer thru the entire book just to be fair--and it never got better. Trust the people who give this book a bad rating--they're right!!

This was not what I was expecting when my ipod rotated to the "next book" on my list. Having just experienced a sudden and unexpected death in my family only the day before, it was a struggle for the first 90 minutes. I decided since the book was short to finish it up while doing my housework. I'm glad I stuck it out. I think the book was cathartic for the author and it allowed me to think about how my family was dealing with death having lost three members in the past three months. If you are prepared for this type of book, or you are needing to not feel "alone" in your grief, then this is a recommendable listen.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross introduced us to loss of life in "On Death and Dying" years ago. Her insights have carried us a long way since that time. Now, Joan Didion tells us what it was like to experience the loss of her husband while her only child was lying in a coma. She has put her expert pen to helping us participate in her grief.

There are some books that I prefer in print because of the written word. I couldn't imagine listening to Swann's Way for example. This is the first time I have listened to Didion's work and I was not disappointed. Her insights are valuable, her prose crisp and cutting as in all of her essays. Her writting listens well in this format.

A touching story of grief and survival. Bravely and honestly written.

This book tackles the experience of loss in a thoughtful way. The author focuses on her personal experience, but at times draws from the broader literature to seek universality in her experience. The book has some wonderful moments, and some thought-provoking insights. However, the book also has some very tedious sections. As I approached the last two hours of the book, I decided I did not want to finish it. I found myself listening to various podcasts rather than slog through the rest of the book.

One thing that struck me was how rarified a life the author had. Of course, she was a successful author, which guarantees she is not in the mainstream of American life. But there were a few references that exemplified the lack of commonality between her life and mine. For example, she found an old Emily Post book on etiquette, and discussed the value of the guidance given to those whose friends had been bereaved: bring bland foods, don't let the bereaved be alone, how to handle calling hours, etc. This advice was appropriate for friends of an older widow who did not have a job, financial problems, or significant family responsibilities. The situation for most of those bereaved at the time Emily Post wrote her advice was different. Most families did not have bereavement leave, widowhood often brought financial ruin, and the large number of farming families still had to care for their land. Didion's reference to this bit of upper-class etiquette is fitting, because Didion did not have to work, and quite frankly could allow herself a year to fret about the experience of widowhood.

So... I enjoyed parts of the book, but not enough to finish it. I would have liked the book to be about 3 hours shorter, which could have been achieved with tighter editing in the written material. I don't dis-recommend it, but there are many books I've enjoyed a lot more this year.