In blackwater woods

'Every year, everything I have ever learned
in my lifetime leads back to this; the fires
and the black river of loss whose other side
is salvation, whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal; to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go'

In Blackwater Woods, Mary Oliver.

I have just finished reading a book trying to fool myself that it'll help with the next essay I have to write, but really it is just a wonderfully written and moving memoir of a woman's journey to her death.
I have always found myself strangely drawn to the 'sad' stories so it's no surprise I have enjoyed this book.
'Before I Say Goodbye' by Ruth Pickardie.
It was recommended by a lecturer while we were covering separation, loss, and attachment. So, of course, with my strange fascination, I sit here with a small mountain of uplifting sounding books about such subjects.