Took The Wind Out Of Me

I had difficulty centering myself enough to blog last night. When I finished Anna Quindlen's 2010 novel "Every Last One" at about 8:00 p.m., I wasn't sure what I would do next. At the risk of over-dramatizing, all I felt I could manage right away was taking a shower.

This isn't the first time a book or movie or piece of music took the wind out of me. I'd like to know about similar experiences of yours. Hours later, I continue to process my reaction to fictional events from a book. But here's something really weird: Quindlen is among the authors to whom I've written one of the "unsent letters" I spoke of in my last (Tuesday, 5/31) blog posting. And when I wrote that earlier posting, I hadn't even started "Every Last One". I spent the bulk of yesterday reading the novel, stopping several times when I broke down. OK, another weird thing: I knew nothing about this book - never read a review, no one recommended it, etc. I picked it up in what I've come to call a "library drive-by". Amanda Quick's novel ("Second Sight") had been recommended to me. When I read the jacket for that book while at the library, I decided against it; Quindlen's books were right there - I grabbed one I hadn't read based on my past enjoyment of her work. Somehow calling all this weirdness coincidence seems inadequate. Your thoughts?

So I showered then journalled then watched an inane movie then slept then got up and ate then did some errands. Then I decided blogging might help me process further. When something hits you like this, what is your way of processing? When a book (movie, music) takes the wind out of you, who in your life are you most likely to discuss it with? I can't recommend this book to many; it's so much work to process it.