i was recommended this book by one of my creative writing professors, so i thought i at least would be able to observe highly crafted writing. there were moments in which i felt connected to joan's grief, but mostly i felt very removed from it-- i think partly because of the gap in generations (she reminded me a lot of my grandmother) and partly because of the large difference in our incomes. i listened to the audiobook, and only finished the last hour and 45 minutes out of spite after the moment in chapter 12 in which "d rummy" (donald fucking rumsfeld, known war criminal under the bush administration) sent her a card. LOL!