All Booked | Grief and Conquering Aging

The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, September 10.

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Hello, book lovelies!

With welcoming a second baby and returning to work, the last few months of my life haven’t been as dedicated to reading as they normally are, and that’s okay. Every phase of life requires a different version of you, and this phase of my life had been all-consuming to say the least. But as the air cools down, the sun sets earlier, and life slows down for just a little bit, I’m able to hit pause on the thoughts swirling in my head and crack open a book a bit more often. I’ve been gravitating towards non-fiction reads lately — for some reason these tend to be more digestible for me than a novel and that’s what my brain needs right now. These books aren’t exactly nice or happy reads — actually, a couple of the ones I’ve read lately address death and grief head on. Becoming a parent has made me acknowledge and come to terms with my own mortality. I, like everyone else who has ever lived, will one day die. To grapple with that, I’ve started facing it head-on. Below, I touch on a couple books that I’ve read on this delightful topic.

I am a big believer in going into a book knowing as little as possible. I try not to read too much of the synopses or reviews, since most of them over-share. My pitches below are short and sweet just for that reason.

To be honest, I haven’t read any of Joan Didion’s other work, but this memoir intrigued me and so did the title, so I picked it up. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion depicts the first year of the author’s life after her husbands unexpected and sudden death. Didion gives us a raw and vulnerable look into grief and her journey through it.

I very much enjoyed this and I respect how Didion was able to translate the hardest year of her life into something that we can all appreciate. At times it was a little hard to follow, but I think that aligns with what the author was experiencing. This book is heavy, so be sure you’re in a place to read about grief before picking it up.

If you are interested in not only living a long time, but also living a high-quality life for a long time, then I highly recommend picking up Outlive: The Science & Art of Longevity by Peter Attia. At times it’s a little science-y, but if you’re able to hang through it, Attia gives incredible information that will help you live a robust and fulfilling life well into your 80s, 90s, and even 100s.

If you enjoyed Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix, then you’ll enjoy this, and possibly even more so.

As always, I would love to hear from you. Do you have any recommendations for me? Have you read any of these books? Let me know!

Your smitten bookworm, Emily

UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS

Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.

Book Signing & Talk on “Crossings” by Ben Goldfarb

Tuesday, October 24, 6:30 p.m. CEC’s Environmental Hub

Jill Lepore, The Deadline
Tuesday, October 24, 7:30 p.m. Campbell Hall

In-Store Author Event: Stephen Aizenstat Talk on The Imagination Matrix

Wednesday, October 25, 6 p.m. Chaucer’s Books

Pico Iyer Q&A and Book Signing, The Half Known Life

Wednesday, October 25, 5:30 p.m. SB Wine Collective

Turtle Talk with Sy Montgomery

Thursday, October 26, 7 p.m. Santa Barbara Zoo Discovery Pavillion

Walter Isaacson with Pico Iyer, Elon Musk
Thursday, October 26, 7:30 p.m. Campbell Hall

SB Reads Book Discussion: A Long Petal of the Sea

Wednesday, November 1, 6 p.m. Santa Barbara Public Library, Faulkner Gallery

Book Talk and Signing: NY Times Bestselling Author Liza Mundy

Thursday, November 2, 6 p.m. Chaucer’s Books

Eddie Ndopu, Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw
Thursday, November 2, 7:30 p.m. Campbell Hall

David Sedaris

Saturday, November 4, 7:30 p.m. Arlington Theatre

Adventure on the High Seas with Author Will Sofrin

Monday, November 6, 6 p.m. Santa Barbara Public Library

LOCAL BOOK SPOTLIGHT

We at the Independent get many books sent to us by local authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that have a local spin. They are all either written by a local author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!

The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us. Click here for a more comprehensive list.

Trust and Confidence: Inside the Battle Between the Secret Service and Ken Starr by Jim Lichtman

A String of Pearls: Pearl Chase of Santa Barbara by Cheri Rae

Escaping Nazi Germany: A Jewish Family’s Story by R.B. Dickinson

Lulu and the Hunger Monster by Erik Talkin

Frankie Versus the Food Phantom by Erik Talkin

If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “Local Author Spotlight.”