A Year of Magical Thinking

 I saw a run through of the play, The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion based on her book.  Linda Purl, an actress, brought to life one again the book that I had read after my husband had died.  At the time it helped me cope with my personal tragedies.  While seated listening to Joan’s story, the idea of how much of what happens to us is out of our control, but what we can control is our actions and reactions was once again reinforced. In the year after her husband’s death, Joan had to face the reality of how her life as it had been changed. She had no control. We can extrapolate this realization to all facets of life.  As in my novel, The Unexpected Connection,” both protagonists, Michelle and Vanessa, had to learn not to feel denigrated when men did not treat them with the consideration they had expected.  The fact is that we cannot control adversities that occur in life, we can only control our own responses. I believe this philosophy of life can help us confront life and can lead to more contentment.  What are your thoughts?