A year in the life of a woman grieving the death of her husband: more of an emotional progression than a chronological timeline. The memoir has both very expansive and microscopic details of grief.

Good stuff: clear prose, sadness without maudlin sentimentality, and a remarkable portrait of the circular, spiraling processes of grief. For me it was also a huge positive that the author did not spend time discussing a higher power in her journey, which I think adds to the universality of the book.

Not as good: Didion's life is one of great privilege, and although I am not sure it would do much good for her to have acknowledged it, it seemed to me that her grieving in this book is so pure because she is untroubled by isolation, family tension, medical negligence, or any financial burden whatsoever. I found it really depressing how easy her money and connections made the logistical parts of medical care so straightforward for her. I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone whose losses have been compounded by these other typical stressors.

I found the book to be a simple read and I didn't find a lot of new perspective or language offered until the final five chapters or so; these I found much more incisive and interesting. I would cautiously recommend this to someone experiencing a similar loss to Didion's, as long as they don't mind reading in the context of a woman of means.