Reading Sad Things in Public + How to Deal
Rachel 
I'm probably the last person on Earth to do so, but last week I began reading The Fault in Our Stars. I had known about this book (and subsequent movie) for a long time and purposely avoided it at all costs since the subject matter deals with 2 teenagers battling cancer (a subject that takes on a whole new meaning and level of sad for me now as a parent). For some reason, I decided to give in to it and downloaded it onto my Kindle before our trip to Aruba. It sat there quietly while I plowed through The Goldfinch. Last week, when I found myself on the train without a book (I had hungrily finished The Goldfinch that morning!), I opened it up and began reading. I knew it was a bad idea to read this kind of book on the train since it would inevitably lead to hiding tears behind sunglasses and choking back sobs while other passengers try to hold back weird looks.
I was right.
Yesterday, I found myself a blubbery mess, leaving a runny nose, soaking wet tissues and smudged mascara in my wake. Not to mention that I was interrupted when we arrived at my stop, smack dab in the midst of the end of the book.
We've all been there, haven't we? There's nothing like a good cry during, or at the end of, a great book. While I try to time these moments for when I'm home, after Penelope is asleep and preferably when Shaun is out for the night (so I can really get a good cry on!), sometimes it's unavoidable that I'm in a public place when the water works are turned on. It's not ideal. It's not fun. But it happens.
Here's how I deal:
Wear sunglasses. Yesterday it poured and so I didn't have mine with me. Big mistake. Huge.
Have tissues. This just goes for life, but especially with a sad book in hand.
Dab eyes classily. Channel Audrey Hepburn. Would Audrey sob? No, she would keep her sunglasses on, dab her eyes and go about her day.
Save that cry. You can really bust it out tonight, once you arrive to a {preferably} empty home.
Do you ever get caught reading sad things in public?
How do you deal?
oh and here's a great article in the event that you have to cry at work {for reasons probably more compelling than a book}.
Reader Comments (5)
Oh I have definitely experienced that while reading on a plane. I like window seats so I often just pretended to be staring out at the window, with my hand propped under my chin to catch tears, usually with my sleeves pulled over my hand.
I loved the Fault in Our Stars! I deifnitely can't read certain things in public. Sometimes I read on my lunch break. I have to be careful!
I feel like I'm always reading sad books in Aruba. One Day, The Fault in Our Stars - which I openly wept on the beach - The Age Of Miracles.
Usually if I can predict it's a sad ending I'll wait to finish until I'm alone. Or in the case of Aruba I'll run up to my hotel room
I remember reading a terribly sad book at the beach and I tried so hard to hold in my emotions. I think I looked worse than if I just let it out. Trying to hold back sobbing just isn't pretty!!!
Such a great post! I'm usually pretty good at avoiding tears while reading in public, though it's usually because I just skim over the sad parts and go back and read them later!