The Year of Magical Thinking Lesson Plan

What is Didion's experience with literature following John's death?

Didion explains that, since childhood, she has found great comfort in reading and learning in times of trouble or confusion. Gathering as much information as she can about a situation helps her to feel as if she has more control over it. However, following John's death, Didion finds more comfort in poetry than in the strictly informational texts on mourning (psychology books, self-help books), which is maybe surprising for someone with a background in reporting. Didion describes moments in ballet and poems in which the grieving express feelings that the deceased must come back, and she relates to that...