It is inevitable that as humans, we will grieve at some point in our lives. Grief is a journey by Kenneth J. Doka has as its title, the perfect metaphor for grief — it is a journey, not a moment or a period in your life. I highly recommend this book.
I am on my own grief journey, and because I’m an avid reader, I’ve been thinking about how I use books and reading in this context. I enjoy all types of books, fiction and nonfiction. In my fiction reading, as you can tell from this website, I adore mysteries. Some, I find, are challenging and educational in presenting places, periods, events, and topics that are new and interesting to me. Other mysteries are just pure fun reading. I always read literary fiction, as well. I usually have one mystery, one literary novel, and a nonfiction book on hand.
I realized early on with my husband’s cancer diagnosis, that I started to find literary novels often depressing. This was also the case with films, as well. My life was difficult enough without taking on someone else’s troubles, fictionalized as it may be.
With my husband’s death, I absolutely had to stop reading books or watching films that presented tragic circumstances. I still enjoy challenging books but I have to put down the depressing ones. I wonder if others have the same experience. Reading is a true comfort for me – absolutely essential. Will my reading habits change permanently? What is the trajectory of reading tastes over one’s lifetime? I’ve started researching this a bit.