Good Grief

If people judge a book by its cover, then this one may go unread by many...which would be their loss because it's one of the best books I've read in a long time. And if I ever decide to write a book, Lolly Winston's style is what I would want mine to imulate: witty, clever, deep, unique, and down to earth. While the girly beach-book cover made me initially skeptical, I quickly discovered why it was a national best seller.

Good Grief was the kind of book that I'd take with me in the car and read at red lights; I literally couldn't put it down. It wasn't just the story that compelled me to continue reading, but also the uniqueness of the characters and the creative, honest, and humorous ways that the author crafted the book.

The story is about Sophie Stanton, a young widow who loses her husband to cancer, and her process of grief. The book is divided into the five stages of grief (denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance), and gave me insight into the difficult process that grieving a loved one must be. I always love reading about how authors come up with their story ideas, and in the back of the book is an interview with the author that I found as interesting as the book itself.

So, if you're looking for book that reads easily but whose themes will resonate with you for weeks, pick up Good Grief, the book whose title doubles as its theme.

My brain on drugs

For the first time since my sophomore year in high school, and despite my incessant hand washing, I caught the flu. I've spent the last two days getting to know my couch very well, and yesterday, I slept 19 of 24 hours, and then managed to sleep another 9 hours last night. Needless to say, I should feel well-rested and alert at this point, but my brain feels more like a thousand ribbons, swaying in slow motion, leaving me dazed and, well, slow. Phil had a good time yesterday trying to talk to me and listening to me attempting to put words together. I think I tried to say the word "pillow" three times before actually being able to form the word. Today, I am able to speak in logical sentences, although moving around or thinking takes considerable effort, like trying to walk quickly through waist-deep water. It's times like this that I realize how often I take my health for granted, and times like this that I'm thankful for drugs like Tylenol and Phenergyn to make me feel better. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the one above is what I imagine my brain to be right now: kind of crazy and psychedelic, but not how I want it to be forever...or even tomorrow. I'm on the mend, and hopefully the half-life that my brain is experiencing will reverse itself quickly because I'm ready to get off the couch and join the world again!