A book that I wouldn’t have read if I have wended my way alone on the road we call youth. Themes turn out more relatable than I anticipate, TG it wasn’t just about romance, it was more of an autobiography, and seeing it this way makes you enjoy navigating through the author experiences. (In fact the book is categorized by 青春、愛人、失去、時間、餘生 and perspectives were relatable cuz the writer’s a 22-yo HKer)
I am going to type my review in English, because it’s faster and I don’t want to sound too sentimental that go against my wish.
This is probably the last book of this genre that I am going to read.
Before I jump into the commentary, I actually moderately enjoy this book, for personal likeness I am going to give it a 3.8/5, for appreciation it should be a 4.4/5, if you like romance, “gentle words”, you will like it ig.
(Ironically the author mentioned this: 「我其實一點都不喜歡自己的文字,矯情做作,像極一個幼稚的孩子,好像是為了某些東西找出口那樣,我不喜歡,一點也不喜歡」 which actually deters my ‘dislikeness’ lol)
Getting to know the true meaning behind the book name makes me feel less cringey. On a serious note, this is an intriguing concept. The concept of love often revolves around ‘give and take’, or the notion of sacrificing myself for others.
The perquisite is of course, that you have to possess something, in order to give but if we move one layer down, to give is to be strong that what your existence or action itself illuminates others without forgone, just as the ocean nurtures unimaginable, biodiversity and support human well-being that what is given is infinitesimally small that there is nothing to trade.
「以此紀念憂鬱症患者,請你相信,生活依然美好。」
I started this book thinking this is another 「柔情似水」,文學-ish 心靈雞湯, while the tone turns out to be 「溫柔」 (this word used to give me goosebumps) as the author often mentioned, this is not a conventional 正向勵志 books, or a 「千帆過後,驀然回首一笑置之的淡然」 kind of articles.
Many of the chapters are written when the writer, Tailor herself whom herself was suffering from clinical depression, was suffering from the backlash of her sickness.
你要相信時間,我們總會抵達明天。
「只要慢慢地在變好的路上就夠了。」
This is a book of empathy, personal experience of sailing through rather than a ‘lecture’ on how. Life is tough, her life is tough and she is not exactly over it too. It’s simply about getting through another day, going to see another tomorrow, and somehow life will have something in store for you, and you will somehow end up better after a long road that you forgot you were trying to cure yourself.
I will become better.
餘生漫漫,原來你只是我的驛站。
Just wants to share that 「不念不忘」echoes a lot with my personal value.
「我被推向未來, 只能回過頭去看那些與我漸行漸遠的回憶, 向它們啞然告別。」
Always feeling my youth is fading, what is nostalgic was all about my upbringing and not romantic relationship, maybe some parts of friendship. I knew that I would not be able to ‘fix’ no matter how intelligent, wealthy or how much I achieve.
I know I can’t live in the past and I am past that stage, I just often feel the pressing of time into maturation and responsibility, and the forever farewell to the present goodness, am I good enough to survive in that not-so-distant future, where will I end up in the coming 40-ish years before my retirement? The losing of freedom, spare time for family, all slipping away.
「我一直相信,要懷有期待才能偶遇美好。」
「原來我們從不需要計畫去相遇,因為最好的相遇往往不期而遇。」
Not so about interpersonal and romantic relationships, with which I don’t resonate much, but other facets in life. Expectation management will tell me otherwise, but I simply believe that I will achieve maybe not great, but some heights one way or another, and when life unveils all that before me, I will be pleased with, and hanker for things I do not desire, or do not now I will desire.
「生活裡滿是發酸的惡意,每個人都擁有自己的苦衷,但鮮少會諒解別人的苦衷⋯
Funny that I actually don’t find all those ‘deep scars’ the author writes throughout the book much hurting (i know each people’s receptivity is different & idk everything), but I contrastingly admire her for being so hardworking for working multiple jobs while joining clubs and studying bachelors, unfathomable for me.
The sweeter the memories, the more it hurts, the warmth of a family amplifies the bitter coldness that permeates when it shatters. I used to wish people would understand that I’m actually not as blessed as they thought I was: rich, cheerful, caring family, and for some who doesn’t know me very well: intelligent and decent interpersonal.
Despite the hardships that each likely face in their lives, it’s highly probable that most of you lead a more ‘satisfiable’ life than I am, at least in the facets that people tend to overrate me. This is perhaps the first time I mentioned it? But I have no intentions of digging deeper. I don’t need an emotional outlet, sometimes I just got lost in the thought that whether I was well over ‘teenage depression’ or just continually drumming to myself that ‘it doesn’t hurt, you shouldn’t even be, given all the perks you still have’ that I just forced myself to be so indifferent to my emotions.
「我和你的夢想不同,不代表它不重要。」
Others might have minimal from family if they conversely shift their emphasis on their friends, what feels like the end of the world may actually… not be the world for others. Even for people who share similar values, reference point and the slope of emotional response to circumstances may be highly different, the grievances is real, and it is dependent but not globally proportional to real-life events.
Don’t scale sadness by experiences, subjective emotions are private and unique; understand and be understood, or inspire and be inspired by others.
「所謂青春,就是一場迫不得意的成長。」
I believe that growing up is brutal, not because of how, but the usually inevitable decay of valuables, my point is, you can always lead a happy life and still thinks it is gruesome because it depreciates your assets (time of enjoyment in general, health of your family, lives of your grandparents) and adds more liability to your balance sheet.
It’s just that reading this book induces me to ‘recalibrate’ my pain, maybe it wasn’t as insignificant as I try to belittle it, tho scaling is impractical - there are always people deviate significantly on either side of the spectrum of fortune and otherwise. Somehow I just feel like it’ll be justified if I did get medically depressed but there’s never justification needed for people who are really sick, this is just self-serving. 「那𥚃什麼都沒有,沒有光明,也沒有黑暗;不過就是帶着點流逝的記憶,在歲月𥚃靜安」
I lament myself for being different majority of the time, particularly from S3 onwards. And I tried to justify this deviation I felt by achievement and talents, but I was never good enough to persuade myself I was different because I was better, my academics weren’t outlier, I wasn’t skilful enough, in addition to everything happens in my surroundings, this was one source of depression.
I remembered that in my first year of university I once nonchalantly asked my peer if his “esteemed opinion could really convince himself that he could measure me and them on the same scale”.
「微風葉動,自開自落」
As time passes, I realize that it is also that I dislike being the same as others, and probably not because it sounds cool, but a natural disposition, still, I was partially liable for being different.
Then I come to understand that I can’t be assessed in the same dimension of measurement, not because I was outlandishly superior, but because I am unwilling to be STANDARDIZED, you can weigh amongst yourselves all you want, I am out of your realm.
「如果可以,不要急著長大,在還能揮霍的時候,盡量地浪費青春。因為那樣的日子,你只活一次。」
I mentioned this too many times already, this will continue to be my objective, I won’t sacrifice everything for work, for intern, time is of the essence now, I will do everything, diversify my experience and grow in moderation, I will enjoy myself to the fullest.