I started reading "Beautyland: A Novel" by Marie-Helene Bertino today. The novel is about the fragility and resilience of life on Earth and in our universe. It tells the story of a baby born with extraordinary perception to a single mother in Philadelphia when Voyager 1 embarks on its interstellar journey. As we follow Adina Giorno's growth, we witness her awakening to her exceptional nature—a profound understanding of a distant planet.

Grief Was a Flawed and Fractured Mirror
We Are More Than The Worst Day of Our Lives
I finished reading ‘Beautyland: A Novel‘ by Marie-Helene Bertino today. The book, with its profound exploration of the fragility and resilience of life on Earth and in our universe, evokes a deep sense of empathy. The protagonist, Adina Giorno, is an alien who reports on human life through a fax machine. One of her observations struck a chord with me. “Grief is a bad mirror. It shows you manipulated images of yourself, your will, and the future. It cannot show you how your small work will add up to yourself. Inch by inch.”