The Effect of Living Backwards

I recently read a book by Heidi Julavits called "The Effect of Living Backwards". The book is hard to fully describe, and for me that is what made it delicious to read. It is the story of two sisters who are on a plane that gets hijacked, or appears to be. In the midst of this story you see Alice participate in a training program and see how she rewrites her own life story with deeper insight and new understanding. We can see the effect of living our life looking backwards.

This book is compared to Alice in Wonderland, where one never really knows what is real and what is an illusion. It continually questions our definition of self, ego, relationships and illusions. This is more complex than a mystery, where the astute observer tries to figure the mystery out before the detective does. The beauty of this book lies in us, the reader, willing to question our own views and definitions. The last few pages are lists of questions to probe the material in more depth, much like a college literature course would.

I applaud Heidi and her daring attempt to give us a platform to see ourselves in a different light. For me, it helped remind me how much 'illusion' I create in my life thru my ego, which is a lot of the work I have been doing over the last year. I thought it was well worth a few hours reading and enjoyment.

All the best! Love, Mj