A review by pattydsf
Out of the Woods: A Memoir of Wayfinding by Lynn Darling
3.0
“My daughter’s departure left questions, big questions, that her presence and the warm hive of family life had made it easy to ignore, of who to be and how to live, of what, if anything, I wanted.” p. 5
Lynn Darling drove me crazy for the first chapters of her story. I felt like she was whining and had no excuse for such behavior. Yes, her daughter had gone off to college and yes, Darling had lost her husband so that she had been a single parent. I am sure that was very hard. But why would woman who had spend much of her time in New York City move to backwater Vermont? Why did I, as the reader, find it so much easier to see that moving at that time in Darling’s life was the worst thing she could do? What possessed this woman?
I am not sure why I stuck with Darling’s tale. I had no angst when my kids went off to college. I have not made big changes in my life (except for my retirement) in decades. There were not a lot of places where I could connect with her in any way. Also I read to learn about people and places and I didn’t feel like I was learning anything. I had picked this book because it appeared to be about solitude, but that really wasn't the subject, so I felt a bit misled.
I am glad I continued reading, however. I eventually found that I could relate to some of what Darling was trying to say. Unfortunately, she has some health issues that made her earlier issues seem trivial and when writing about those, Darling made me really see what she was experiencing. Also I enjoyed her attempts to ground herself through maps. And so, I did learn some new things and found a way to relate to the city mouse who choose to live in the country.
I recommend this book to those with high tolerance for people who make big decisions lightly, but who do learn from their mistakes. Also if you like reading about people’s lives and their stories, this may be the book for you. Darling is a good writer and you might not even see any of her story as whining.
Lynn Darling drove me crazy for the first chapters of her story. I felt like she was whining and had no excuse for such behavior. Yes, her daughter had gone off to college and yes, Darling had lost her husband so that she had been a single parent. I am sure that was very hard. But why would woman who had spend much of her time in New York City move to backwater Vermont? Why did I, as the reader, find it so much easier to see that moving at that time in Darling’s life was the worst thing she could do? What possessed this woman?
I am not sure why I stuck with Darling’s tale. I had no angst when my kids went off to college. I have not made big changes in my life (except for my retirement) in decades. There were not a lot of places where I could connect with her in any way. Also I read to learn about people and places and I didn’t feel like I was learning anything. I had picked this book because it appeared to be about solitude, but that really wasn't the subject, so I felt a bit misled.
I am glad I continued reading, however. I eventually found that I could relate to some of what Darling was trying to say. Unfortunately, she has some health issues that made her earlier issues seem trivial and when writing about those, Darling made me really see what she was experiencing. Also I enjoyed her attempts to ground herself through maps. And so, I did learn some new things and found a way to relate to the city mouse who choose to live in the country.
I recommend this book to those with high tolerance for people who make big decisions lightly, but who do learn from their mistakes. Also if you like reading about people’s lives and their stories, this may be the book for you. Darling is a good writer and you might not even see any of her story as whining.