I recently read Days at the Morisaki Bookshop and I found it to be a great balance between slice-of-life and brief intersections of philosophical musings about life and finding purpose in it. I recently got the sequel, but I'm craving more of this type of book so I'll definitely need more after this.
I've been DNF-ing really depressing memoirs because while I heavily resonate and find them to be beautifully profound, I just am not in the proper headspace to cope by empathizing with tragedy right now as it's emotionally taxing and contagiously harmful in recovering from a slump. I don't want overt fantastical fluff either because I dislike extremely peppy and bubbly stories (despite being an optimistic person myself) because I can't relate. As the title also suggests, the best way to describe it is in the same vein as a Ghibli movie.
Whisper of the Heart is a great example, a very cute story about an aspiring writer falling in love with a violin craftsman that is also grounded by really tough morals regarding pursuing passion and feeling like you're falling behind your peers. It's emotional and made me cry, while also being perfectly comforting.
I need really tragic conflicts to relate to but also protagonists who are actively being aided in their journey to find contentment in the direction they're taking. It can be anything, fiction or nonfiction.
Bonus points for found family, a beautiful environmental setting, and really poetic passages/quotable one-liners or dialogue. Thank you in advance!
by CommonChoice8078