I am so very grateful to my cat. He is my best friend, my roommate and a wonderful companion, but I know (despite not wanting to be) that I am an overprotective cat mom and I struggle with how not to be and yet still be a force of good for him.

Here is some helpful information I found on either helicopter pet parents or codependency with pets:

https://pawp.com/9-signs-youre-a-pet-helicopter-parent/#:~:text=If%20you%20constantly%20monitor%20your,be%20a%20pet%20helicopter%20parent.&text=Although%20we'd%20all%20love,that's%20simply%20not%20the%20case.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/signs-codependent-cat-202417871.html

I have never dressed my cat and myself up in matchin outfits nor have I thrown my cat a birthday party, but I have done many of the other things listed.  

 

I haven't felt this strongly about a Stephen King book in years! There are so many great things going with it that I don't know where to start or how to stop my review: Holly Gibney is oddly endearing and one of the best characters to grace a novel in a long, long time. I only hope that there are more Holly stories to be told. 

Rodney and Emily Harris, with their extremely distorted and damaging belief systems, are far more scary and disturbing than any a supernatural force could be and that includes Pennywise. 0_0 I could totally picture the couple being played by John Lithgow and Jessica Lange, if this is ever optioned for streaming or the movies.

 When I was in high school, a boy who sat near me sneered once thst I would end up a cat lady one day.

It turns out that he was right, but for that I’m very glad because my cat gives me a companionship that I never once dreamed I would find during the loneliest times of my life.

In a world where feelings get stuck in the heart's traffic jam, dying to spill out but often stuck in a silent gridlock, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is like this cool lighthouse of understanding and empathy, shining its light on the deep stuff.

It's like this old, beat-up map to the uncharted lands of the heart. Koenig goes deep into feelings that usually don't bother with definitions. The words in this book aren't just definitions; they're like secret passageways to whole new worlds of feelings.

They're like, "Hey, check out these emotions you never knew you had names for!" With Koenig's word magic and poetic vibes, abstract concepts suddenly have a pulse, becoming your emotional BFFs. Each entry is like a mirror showing the feels we didn't know we had.

Reading Koenig's poetic ramblings got me feeling all "sonder," you know? That sweet-sad realization that every random person out there has a life as wild and complicated as mine. And then there's "Opia," hitting me with that vulnerable moment when eye contact makes you realize there's a whole universe of unspoken stuff between souls.

But what makes The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows kick butt is how it sparks conversations—within yourself, with your crew, and with the whole wide world. Koenig's vibe is all about busting out of the silent jail that locks up our feelings, pushing us to chat about the gaps between us. In a world where tech connects and disconnects us, this book is like a rock, keeping us grounded in the crazy, beautiful ride of being human.

In a world that's all about speed and surface-level crap, this book is like a language ninja, cutting through the boring to grab the ungrabbable. Koenig's deep thoughts remind us that we're not alone in our emotional rollercoaster; our heart dungeons are filled with others. This book is like a sneaky revolution—a shout-out to embracing all the emotions that make life pop and treasuring the beauty in shared sad times.

At the end of the day, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows isn't just a book; it's like this crazy adventure into what makes us human. It's like having a quiet chat with your soul, an invite to get cozy with all the crazy feelings that make us who we are.

With every page turn, Koenig holds our hand, guiding us on this epic trip—a journey of connection, finding ourselves, and realizing that, in the wild world of feelings, we're all on the same ride.

Books that leave you grasping…

Maybe I’m too easily influenced by the emotions this brought out in me, but still…I have to say that this is probably my favorite read of 2023. 

I loved everything about it, even the sad parts. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne comes across so compelling here that I was inspired to buy the biography about him by Brenda Wineapple.

They were several Kindle highlights in this that just spoke to me… as if I had written them myself, but with them written so much much better than I ever could do.

I’ll write more soon about this…my thoughts are too incoherent right now🤦‍♀️