Bittersweet

Bittersweet~ How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole
by Susan Cain
published by Crown in 2022
nonfiction

Considering the significance of the bitter and the sweet of life and learning how to hold both… this is the essence of this book. Susan Cain examines several historical points as to how American society is generally so good at holding the sweet, while simultaneously seeing through, past, or completely ignoring the bitter. She explores how this imbalance developed in our nation and the impact it has had on us collectively and us as individuals. Ms. Cain shares from personal examples with bittersweet, research gathered from genres such as music, science, etymology, and religion, and she considers accepting the links of sorrow and longing as the aspects of “bitter” with humans being whole.

There’s so much about this book that I really value. What I probably respect most is her writing style as well as her ability to brilliantly and beautifully weave together both diverse areas of research and good storytelling. I’ve been reading this book with a friend, and we’ve had some fantastic dialogue stemming from points and research raised that start us bantering our own thoughts, feelings, and opinions about more deeply. For me, I think it’s important to examine what we mean when we talk of “whole”. My friend and I have had a good time just talking about this one word in light of perspectives raised in this book. And this just scratches the surface of good conversation starters. Ms Cain both asks great questions throughout Bittersweet and she establishes the opportunity for the reader to form their own questions simply in the way she writes. One doesn’t have to agree with everything written in this book to foundationally recognize the need to hold both the bitter and sweet of life equally, respectfully, and with attention.