Katie Couric

Katie Couric Instagram – When I was at the @aspenideas festival earlier this summer, Nancy Cobb, who I had met briefly at some point in time, gave me the book she wrote 24 years ago. What a gift. In Lieu of Flowers: A Conversation for the Living is a beautifully written book about death, dying and loss. It may sound depressing, but it’s not. Yes, I cried at times but It is lyrical, tender and comforting—and even occasionally funny. I think what I’m trying to say here is that it is human. Nancy is so eloquent. Here’s a paragraph about the writer Annie Dillard: “Write as if you were dying,” she said. “At the same time, write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case.” This kind of rigorous standard that Dillard espouses requires a creative ruthlessness, a daily monitoring of psyche and soul, a cognizance of one’s own short run on the planet. But indeed the world would be a kinder place if we could apply Dillard’s writing advice to our lives, like a poultice to a wounded spirit. How many more times, after all, will we watch a harvest moon ease over the horizon and erupt into a full blown gold or catch a winter sunrise as it turns a field of snow to sparkling? Only when we name these wonders do we realize how evanescence their brightness, how finite their encores.
This book is about loss, but really it’s about life. Reading it was a profound and beautiful experience. Thank you Nancy. ❤️ PS I like the way the light was hitting the fingers when I took this photo. | Posted on 14/Aug/2024 06:12:35