Forewarning there will be plot spoilers, if you haven’t read and plan to, don’t read further.

The Midnight Library follows Nora Seed, a listless and unfulfilled woman that finds herself in a place between life and death after attempting suicide. Her purgatory takes the shape of a library filled with infinite possibilities from all of her regrets and ”what ifs” and we follow her as she discovers more and more that life isn’t always greener on the other side. The story takes an interesting look at what it means to truly be alive and to be the creators of the life we want to live

With that out of the way, I had a lot of big feelings around it. Having depression all my life, the occasional ideation, and constant regrets, I aligned deeply with Nora and her fear of the “what ifs“ in life. I thought the way she interacted with each possibility was beautifully well done and felt sad for her as she started to realize the meaning of life and the purpose of life can only be found when we create it and engage with it.

I wondered what my purgatory would look like and what I would feel if given the chance to explore infinite possibilities of what could’ve been and how I would feel having the curtains lifted from my eyes each time I had to realize that the good and bad times were complimentary and life would always be filled with both.

I loved watching Nora come to terms with the realization that just because her life wasn’t what she expected, didn’t mean her life was worthless, and it made me rethink my own outlook on the world. Matt Haig did a great job exploring these concepts in a meaningful and digestible way with a relatable protagonist and a satisfying conclusion – the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water and take care of it.