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Rating: 
Summary: Provocative, insightful food for thought.
Review: The title intrigued me, because like most people, I've known tragedy. Was there a hidden meaning to it? And if there was, would I be able to recognize it? This is a slender volume with a simple title, and yet filled with complexities. I didn't even get past the artwork on the cover (which I interpreted as a window looking out onto the world) before I started thinking of past tragedies and its impact on the decisions I make today. Chapters entitled "Is It Only Bad Luck" and "Childhood Spiritual Roots" drew me in immediately, and the book held my attention througout. Carlson writes often about her son Ben, who died by suicide, and one passage entitled "Ben's Angel" was especially poignant. There are chapters addresssing the works of Viktor Frankl, Marie Louis Von Franz, and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, whom you would expect to find mentioned in a book of this nature, but also a lot of detail regarding wisdom found in fairy tales and generational tales. There's a lot to absorb and consider, which is what a good book should offer. Did it help me make sense of tragedy, or find its hidden meaning? I'm not sure. It certainly gave me new perspectives in viewing these tragic events in my life, and maybe that's all it needs to do. Finding meaning in tragedy may be life's work. This book is certainly a handy guide for the trip!
Rating:
Summary: Provocative, insightful food for thought.
Review: The title intrigued me, because like most people, I've known tragedy. Was there a hidden meaning to it? And if there was, would I be able to recognize it? This is a slender volume with a simple title, and yet filled with complexities. I didn't even get past the artwork on the cover (which I interpreted as a window looking out onto the world) before I started thinking of past tragedies and its impact on the decisions I make today. Chapters entitled "Is It Only Bad Luck" and "Childhood Spiritual Roots" drew me in immediately, and the book held my attention througout. Carlson writes often about her son Ben, who died by suicide, and one passage entitled "Ben's Angel" was especially poignant. There are chapters addresssing the works of Viktor Frankl, Marie Louis Von Franz, and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, whom you would expect to find mentioned in a book of this nature, but also a lot of detail regarding wisdom found in fairy tales and generational tales. There's a lot to absorb and consider, which is what a good book should offer. Did it help me make sense of tragedy, or find its hidden meaning? I'm not sure. It certainly gave me new perspectives in viewing these tragic events in my life, and maybe that's all it needs to do. Finding meaning in tragedy may be life's work. This book is certainly a handy guide for the trip!
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