A Life Without Regrets?
One of my main New Year's resolutions was to read more, so in early January I ordered a bunch of books from Amazon and slowly but surely made my way through them. One of those books was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. I had seen pages of it being shared on social media with many people giving it rave reviews and commenting on how it made them really reflect on things, so I thought I’d give it a try - and it didn’t disappoint.
The Midnight Library is told through the perspective of the protagonist Nora Seed, who has lost her job, her boyfriend, her best friend and just generally feels lost in life. All her emotions accumulate and Nora suddenly thinks of all the things she regrets or could have done differently, the jobs she could’ve had, the people she could have loved, the family she could have had, and it all gets too much for her and leads her to overdose. She then wakes up in the Midnight Library, a place where anything is possible, where you can live any life you can think of. Nora chooses to explore what she could have been if she had made different decisions, and lives hundreds of possible lives in the hopes that she’ll find one that makes her truly happy, that fulfils every wish she’s ever had.
Spoiler alert: She doesn’t find one.
I loved this book and its message, not only did it have a great plot and relatable characters, but it made me reflect on the fact that I need to be grateful with what I have now. Everyone thinks they would be happier if they were smarter, or richer, or better looking, or more talented, but realistically you could be all those things and still be extremely unhappy in yourself and with your life. There are no set things in life that can make you happy, you just need to find a way to make the most out of the life you’re living and not worry about regrets. Regrets will only cause you harm, they will never fix anything, and most of the things we regret not doing could have changed our life for the worse…
If you want to experience this heart warming book for yourself, it’s currently available in most bookstores and is also available as an audiobook, if that’s how you like to your literature!
