The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞.”⁠

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Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived.⁠

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“𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬”⁠

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Nora Seed is having a really bad day. She is mugged, loses her job, blamed for other’s people’s failures, and her cat is run over by a car. She is also seriously depressed. This day is one of many bad days that Nora has experienced over the last decade of her life. She can’t take life anymore and attempts suicide.⁠

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“𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭.”⁠

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She wakes up to discover that she is in the space between life and death known as The Midnight Library. Here, Nora is given the opportunity to take the paths she didn’t choose and undo her regrets. She travels into the multiverse, getting to experience her other lives. What she finds is that the grass isn’t always greener.⁠

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“𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭.’ ‘𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞.”⁠

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This is my first book by Matt Haig and I love how he weaves in bits of magic, fantasy, and whimsy alongside Quantum physics, literature, and philosophy. I loved Nora’s character. I felt all of her emotions, the dark, and the light. She is fragile, desperate, adventurous, a rock star, a loving sister, a good friend, a kind neighbor, a good teacher, and, most importantly, a survivor. Nora’s story inspired me to stop living a life of regrets and embrace the here and now.