Joan Didion's essays were my introduction to creative nonfiction. Even after reading my first essay, I had already gained much more knowledge of the art of narratives. In reading this book describing the year after the sudden death of Didion's husband, I hoped to expand on that knowledge and I believe I did exactly that. The first think that I took away from this book was the idea of effectively combining different types of writing as a way to push your narrative forward. In this book, medicine plays a crucial role; Didion analyzes the possible causes of her husband's sudden death and those of her daughter's rapidly declining health. Because of the prevalence of medicine in the story and in Didion's life at the time, she weaves excerpts and information from scientific textbooks with her stories and reflection. She incorporates quotes from the textbooks and pamphlets she was given during this time but also cites studies and creates hypothetical situations that create this book centered around the hospital and the black and white that she wishes were present in it and how she deals with her grief, the book's overarching theme. This is one of my favorite examples of this incorporation of scientific fact: "Dolphins, I learned from J. Worden of the Harvard Child Bereavement Study at Massachusetts General Hospital, had been observed refusing to eat after the death of a mate. Geese had been observed reacting to such a death by flying and calling, searching until they themselves became disoriented and lost." She goes on to explain that it is acceptable for these animals to grieve but not socially acceptable for humans. I learned from this how to include a wide range of ideas and sources in my writing to add variety and make a statement in an interesting way. The second thing I learned from this book was the importance of point of view in creative nonfiction. One of the biggest misconceptions is that creative nonfiction is just telling the whole story when it is really deciding what is important enough to include and shaping the story from there. Although I could never be certain what was left out of this book, it is clearly structured in a purposeful manner. Didion reflects on her husband's death, continually going back and replaying the events of that night; however, her view of these events changes slightly depending on her grief at the time of the reflection. This portrayed the evolution of her grieving process and without it, the book would've been entirely different. I learned that the point of view chosen in creative nonfiction, what angle is taken to the event and what details are chosen to be included, completely shapes the narrative. The final thing that I took away from this book was a much more abstract concept of how writing can be used as a coping mechanism. This book, as it suggests in the title, was written in the year after Didion's husband passed away and documents her grieving process in this year. Sometimes it is clear that this was edited and revised to be ready for publication but there are often moments where Didion's thoughts come through and it is clear that this was more for the cathartic release of her feelings than for the publication of a new book. It is clear with phrases like, "A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty." that this book is truly about Didion coming to terms with this death and in doing so, she was also able to connect a whole community of grieving people who could relate to this author opening up about grief in a society that doesn't always accept it. Although Didion's piece was written with the intent of publication, which allowed her book to also connect and help others who were grieving, I learned that it is just as beneficial to write for yourself as a way of coping.
The first think that I took away from this book was the idea of effectively combining different types of writing as a way to push your narrative forward. In this book, medicine plays a crucial role; Didion analyzes the possible causes of her husband's sudden death and those of her daughter's rapidly declining health. Because of the prevalence of medicine in the story and in Didion's life at the time, she weaves excerpts and information from scientific textbooks with her stories and reflection. She incorporates quotes from the textbooks and pamphlets she was given during this time but also cites studies and creates hypothetical situations that create this book centered around the hospital and the black and white that she wishes were present in it and how she deals with her grief, the book's overarching theme. This is one of my favorite examples of this incorporation of scientific fact: "Dolphins, I learned from J. Worden of the Harvard Child Bereavement Study at Massachusetts General Hospital, had been observed refusing to eat after the death of a mate. Geese had been observed reacting to such a death by flying and calling, searching until they themselves became disoriented and lost." She goes on to explain that it is acceptable for these animals to grieve but not socially acceptable for humans. I learned from this how to include a wide range of ideas and sources in my writing to add variety and make a statement in an interesting way.
The second thing I learned from this book was the importance of point of view in creative nonfiction. One of the biggest misconceptions is that creative nonfiction is just telling the whole story when it is really deciding what is important enough to include and shaping the story from there. Although I could never be certain what was left out of this book, it is clearly structured in a purposeful manner. Didion reflects on her husband's death, continually going back and replaying the events of that night; however, her view of these events changes slightly depending on her grief at the time of the reflection. This portrayed the evolution of her grieving process and without it, the book would've been entirely different. I learned that the point of view chosen in creative nonfiction, what angle is taken to the event and what details are chosen to be included, completely shapes the narrative.
The final thing that I took away from this book was a much more abstract concept of how writing can be used as a coping mechanism. This book, as it suggests in the title, was written in the year after Didion's husband passed away and documents her grieving process in this year. Sometimes it is clear that this was edited and revised to be ready for publication but there are often moments where Didion's thoughts come through and it is clear that this was more for the cathartic release of her feelings than for the publication of a new book. It is clear with phrases like, "A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty." that this book is truly about Didion coming to terms with this death and in doing so, she was also able to connect a whole community of grieving people who could relate to this author opening up about grief in a society that doesn't always accept it. Although Didion's piece was written with the intent of publication, which allowed her book to also connect and help others who were grieving, I learned that it is just as beneficial to write for yourself as a way of coping.