The last thing that made you cry

And one of my favourite reads this year

Welcome to my head - a round up of what I have been thinking about, reading and eating.

Thoughts

The other day I came across an article on The New York Times about crying - feeling like I had finally found my place on the internet I dove right in. I learned that humans are the only animals that shed tears of emotion which made me feel very human indeed. I also learned, through a handy quiz, that there are four types of crier - attachment, sentimental, compassionate and societal. I did the quiz and it came as no surprise, that I am all four types of crier. I think this may be a handy way of introducing myself to people from now on.

The thing is, at the age of 56, crying can make it seem like you’re losing it a bit. It’s not cool to see an older woman crying at the at the grocery store because she saw a dog that looked like it may have been lost even though it was walking next to a person carrying a leash. Indeed, I read that as you get older you cry less, but I think that’s just because society sees it as less appropriate if you cry in public over the age of say, six. And so, moulded as I am by society, I try not to show my tears in public.

This means I don’t normally cry in public (apart from funerals, weddings, movies and unavoidably sad situations) because, as I say, it’s hard to cry at Coles and try maintain a semblance of sanity at the same time. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to cry. In fact here’s short list of some of the things that made me want to cry this week:

• My son rolled his ankle

• I spent time in emergency (because of said ankle)

• I saw a dead animal on the side of the road

• Poverty

• I saw a notice for a lost dog

• I read a very sad book

• Single use plastics

• The news

• My friend was diagnosed with a horrible illness

• Instagram

• Bad dreams

• I couldn’t find what I was looking for at the supermarket

• War

• I can’t get the water marks out of my shower screen

• I hate the new iPhone update

• Climate change

In the interest of balance I have also wanted to cry happy tears this week - but my list is probably just repeat iterations of things to do with my husband and son.

Are you a cryer? What’s the last thing that made you cry?

Reading

One of the most important lessons I learned when I was trying to write a novel was to embed myself in the characters so completely that I knew them like I know myself; to create a world for the novel that I could inhabit so that an audience would feel like they too were living in that world. I learned about the huge amount of work that goes into a book before the first word is even written. And while I know that now, it’s when I read a book like this that I realise how much I appreciate it. I didn’t just read this book, I lived in its world

I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the tone and I loved the self awareness. It was one of those books that you don’t want to put down but you also don’t want to keep reading because then you’ll have to leave the characters behind.

The Wedding People tells the story of Phoebe, a middle aged woman struggling with infertility and a life that seems to bring her no joy. She takes herself off to a fancy hotel for a night and finds herself the only guest at the hotel who is not part of a very elaborate, over the top wedding.

It’s a love story, it’s a reflection on finding one’s path, it’s a study in people and relationships. It deals with infertility and suicide, death, divorce and marriage but it’s more than all of that - it’s an engrossing and brilliant book from start to finish. One of my favourite reads this year.

Eating

Brussel sprouts. Bear with me. We ate at Trattoria Elva in Bondi and the pasta was brilliant, as was the salad but Oh My God the crispy brussel sprouts with smoked paprika and a balsamic reduction were the most delicious taste sensation that I am now going to try and emulate at home.

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Thanks, as always for reading to the end.

See you next week

Lana