In therapy, people often reflect on past choices, searching for patterns. Looking back can illuminate insights about the present and the future, providing a foundation for meaningful change.
Consider a therapy client who repeatedly chooses unhealthy relationships. Examining these patterns can reveal how they select partners and their role in sustaining dysfunctional dynamics. In this process, it is common to recall someone kind from the past—a suitable and available partner who once expressed interest. This often leads to the question: What if? Exploring why a healthier path was not chosen at the time can be a valuable therapeutic exercise.
This process of revisiting past choices and wondering what if is at the heart of Matt Haig’s number one New York Times best-selling novel, The Midnight Library. Haig, whose memoir Reasons to Stay Alive candidly examines his struggles with depression, continues his exploration of mental health in this compelling story.
Following a devastating day, the novel’s protagonist, Nora Seed, finds herself in a mysterious library at midnight, suspended somewhere between life and death. A beloved librarian from her past offers her the chance to read from books that represent alternate lives, each stemming from a different choice she could have made. What if she had pursued competitive swimming? Stayed in her band? Moved to Australia or completed her philosophy degree? How would life have unfolded on the roads not taken?
In The Midnight Library, every regret invites access to a parallel universe where things turned out differently. Just imagine the chance to discover the outcomes of the road not taken. As Nora explains:
“Everything in quantum mechanics and string theory all points to there being multiple universes. Many, many universes…”
Healing through literature
Haig blends metaphysics and philosophy into a captivating backdrop as Nora travels between these alternate realities. Between each life, she returns to the library to reflect and recharge. Her journey of self-discovery echoes classic tales like It’s a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz, which remind us that the answers we seek are often closer than we think. These themes make The Midnight Library a rich and engaging tool for therapy. Nora walks many paths to finally, fully determine that there’s no place like home.
As Nora learns, “You could be as honest as possible in life, but people only see the truth if it is close enough to their reality.” Or, as a quote attributed to Thoreau puts it, “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Like Nora, therapy clients often discover that the answers they seek are not in imagined alternate lives but in understanding their own reality with a fresh perspective. Nora’s journey allows her to see herself and her world more clearly. With newfound clarity, personal fulfillment becomes shockingly accessible.