Nan McCarthy

author of Since You Went Away, Chat, Connect, Crash, & Live ’Til I Die

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“I don’t believe in aging. I believe in forever altering one’s aspect to the sun.” —Virginia Woolf, from her diary dated October 2, 1932

I did not love this in spite of the rave reviews and accolades. I’m fine with ambiguous endings so that wasn’t it. (But if you have a problem w/ ambiguous endings you won’t be fine with this one.) A middle class white family rents a luxury home near the beach. A blackout in the city (along with various other hinted-at catastrophes) causes the wealthy owners of the home (an older black couple) to knock at the door late at night, asking if they can stay the night in their own home. The two families are suspicious and resentful of one another but are forced to live under one roof without cell phone service or TV news to clue them in on whatever the global calamity was/is. So much potential here and I was super excited to dive in to what I hoped would be a compelling piece of suspense fiction layered with themes of racism, class, family dynamics, human nature, and the goodness (or badness) of people facing life or death circumstances. For me, it didn’t live up to my expectations but obviously a lot of other readers felt differently. (I was hoping for a “Get Out” level of suspense, dark humor, and social commentary. This was not that.) I hear there’s a movie being made starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Mahershala Ali. Mahershala Ali is one of my favorite actors so maybe this will be one of those rare instances where the film is better than the book.

They don’t mind sharing the couch when it’s cold out ❄️🐶🐶🐶❄️

Our son married the girl of his dreams last weekend 🤍

rehearsal dinner 12.31.21

Low tide at Malibu Pier & Leo Carrillo State Beach 🌄🌊☀️🧡

Oh man. What is it with people dying in January? I lost my dad (1971), my mom (2002), and my Nana (1992), all in January. And now Sidney Poitier. What the hell. My favorite actor. A lot of people’s favorite actor. Several of his movies are at the top of my list as far as all-time favorites. Sure, I liked his more famous movies like To Sir With Love and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and Blackboard Jungle. But the ones that really spoke to me were some of his lesser-known films, like A Patch of Blue and The Defiant Ones. Then after that I’d say In the Heat of the Night and A Raisin in the Sun. I also really love Cry the Beloved Country and Lilies of the Field. I recently discovered the first movie he directed, Buck and the Preacher. It’s a quirky film that was ahead of its time and one that stays with you. Such a loss. Rest in power, Sidney Poitier.

Started this one on the flight in to LAX; picking it up again a week later on the way home. Another book about a plane crash ✈️ 💥 🌊 😳 An artist named Scott joins two wealthy families on a private jet from Martha’s Vineyard to NYC. The plane crashes into the ocean and the only survivors are Scott and the 4-year old son of one of the couples (who stands to inherit his parents’ sizable fortune). Unwanted media attention ensues while Scott and the boy begin to form a bond. Something sketchy was going on with the uber-rich couples before the crash. (Illegal financial dealings perhaps?) That’s about where I left off—70 pages in and the story is sufficiently gripping to keep me engrossed for another day of flying. (Note emergency bag of Lay’s in my carryon.)

Is it weird I chose two books about plane crashes to bring along on my trip out west? I finished The Last Flight on the first leg of my trip and it was good—almost good enough to make me not think about the stomach-dropping turbulence after take-off. Almost. Anyway, the story is about two women trying to escape life-threatening situations. They don’t know each other but after a “chance”conversation in the airport bar they decide to switch tickets. One of the planes crashes. The surviving woman assumes the other woman’s identity and we begin to find out more about what each woman was running from in alternating chapters between past and present. This was a good one. Fast-paced and compelling.

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- biography/memoir (6)
  - Live ’Til I Die (6)
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  - Chat: book one (4)
  - Connect: book two (4)
  - Crash: book three (4)
  - Since You Went Away (Part Four: Fall) (2)
  - Since You Went Away (Part One: Winter) (3)
  - Since You Went Away (Part Three: Summer) (2)
  - Since You Went Away (Part Two: Spring) (2)
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Since You Went Away: Part One 25% off (print) & 50% off (ebook) Most war stories focus on the drama on the battlefield. Since You Went Away shines a light on the battles being fought on the homefront,…

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