The Year of Magical Thinking

The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion

Didion received raves for this book when it was published in 2005 and more are added here. Several days after watching her daughter drift into septic shock, Joan Didion witnessed her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, collapse at their dinner table and die. This book is about the first year after these events and becomes a remembrance of their marriage and her attempt to deal emotionally with this doubly-tragic series of events. Her writing is flawless - clear, concise, descriptive, unsettling and never waivers in her attempt, as a professional writer, to capture her feelings truthfully and honestly. Didion shows it is never easy for anyone to deal with the grief and agony of personal loss, but she does give hope that one can survive. This book is a testimony to the human spirit and to the sheer brilliance of Didion's writing ability.
-Roy