Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala

Book Summary(via Goodreads):

On the morning of December 26, 2004, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, Sonali Deraniyagala lost her parents, her husband, and her two young sons in the tsunami she miraculously survived. In this brave and searingly frank memoir, she describes those first horrifying moments and her long journey since. She has written an engrossing, unsentimental, beautifully poised account: as she struggles through the first months following the tragedy, furiously clenched against a reality that she cannot face and cannot deny; and then, over the ensuing years, as she emerges reluctantly, slowly allowing her memory to take her back through the rich and joyous life she’s mourning, from her family’s home in London, to the birth of her children, to the year she met her English husband at Cambridge, to her childhood in Colombo; all the while learning the difficult balance between the almost unbearable reminders of her loss and the need to keep her family, somehow, still alive within her.

This insomniac's opinion:

This is, by far, the most intense memoir that I have ever read. The reader barely has a chance to acclimate himself to the people in the book when the wave comes and destroys everything in its path, including Sonali's family. This memoir was gripping, searingly honest and brings the reader along on Sonali's desperate, despairing journey of grief.

This memoir made me face my deepest fear-losing my children. I almost gave up on the book several times because it was simply too painful. The writing is achingly beautiful in its honesty. Sonali and her story will stay with me forever.

Worth staying up all night to read?

Yes, but stock up on tissues first and bring your family to your bed because you are gonna want to check on the health and safety of your children every minute.

Rating: 

4.5 stars