pieces

"She struggled with her sadness, but tried to conceal it, to divide it into smaller and smaller parts and scatter these in places she thought no one would find them." 

- from Great House by Nicole Krauss

This sentence has had me thinking since I read it on Saturday.

Thinking about:

the process of managing one's sadness. or

depression. anxiety. anger.

Thinking about:

the idea of breaking it apart in order to mitigate a full take-over.

the idea of trying to hide one's dis-order from another.

the vulnerability it takes to present one's dis-order to another in its fullness (or even in pieces).

Thinking about:

how similar this strategy is to the one used to help people get through difficult seasons in their lives:

{one day at a time}

how the character is simultaneously impressed and frustrated.

Impressed by his spouse's ability to manage her immense sadness.

(in an attempt to stay a viable part of society) 

and

Frustrated with being left out.

Paradox

And that's been keeping me thinking.