Imagine if you could go back and change the decisions you regret. What would that life look like? Would you be happier? That’s what Nora finds out in the Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This book resonated with me so much that I first read it in 2021 and more recently, decided to listen to the audiobook in December 2024.
Nora, full of regrets from a lifetime of letting people down, decides that she’s ready to die. With the loss of her cat, the only person in her life that loved her, Nora feels useless in this world, like she’s just taking up space and thinks maybe she’s better off dead. Her decision lands her in the Midnight Library, a kind of purgatory that lets her explore other lives she could have lived. It’s a chance for her to review what would have happened if she made different decisions along the way, and was able reverse some of her regrets and live out all her childhood dreams. With infinite possibilities and her childhood librarian as her guide, Nora jumps from life to life, hoping to find the “perfect life” that she wants to abandon her current life for and continue living.
What I loved about this book is that it invokes a feeling of hope. I found myself rooting for Nora to find the best life, and was invested in exploring her new lives as she tried to reverse the guilt of one bad decision after another. What if she was glaciologist? Or a rock star? Sometimes the crossroads in our lives are obvious and other not so much, but all these decisions still have profound effects on our lives.
Lilly always nearby.
It was heart-breaking to read about Nora’s suffering brought on by losing her feline companion, and it was this event in the story that made me pick up the book again. After my 19 and a half year old cat, Lilly, died on Halloween of 2024, I couldn’t cope with her loss. I spent the next 6 weeks watching only cheesy Hallmark movies and spent my evenings either working on a no-sew blanket or my costume for an upcoming show. It was either that or crying and everything made me cry. Working from home full-time since 2020 provided me with lots of Lilly time. Walking by her empty spot where I’d feed her would set me on a crying spiral. My whole routine was thrown off. In the mornings, Lilly would jump on my feet promptly after hearing my alarm, ensuring that I got up and fed her. Together, we would sit on the bed and I’d pet her and we’d look over at the mirrored closet, just enjoying how happy we looked.
The Midnight Library is a powerful read that I didn’t want to end. As I got to the final chapters, I hoped that Nora’s story would continue and there would be one more chapter. This is an important story of hope and regrets, and deciding what components do make up the best life. It helped change my own perspectives about my life and the choices I made that led me to here. It helped me move forward with remembering Lilly for all the good times we had together, and not get caught up in missing her. In this moment of history that we’re currently surviving, I think we could all use a little hope.
Drink of Choice: Soothing cup of peppermint tea
Cost: $0 – rented from the Library