The Midnight Library question

I think about that a lot, what if that day I had decided to go out, what if they'd cancelled and I ended up meeting someone else, what if we'd gone to the doctor sooner, I always have since I was little. I always wondered how much of an effect on my life the little things would have if they'd been changed, and how little of thing was big enough to make an impact. And then that led to looking at the little things around me, even what if that character in that popular show had never said that iconic line? Then that wouldn't have been a trend on TikTok. Would that be big enough to impact someone's life at least a little, and if so, how many people would it have affected. Because sure, you trip and hurt yourself that affects you, but really only you and whoever you tell. You post a video that goes viral though. How many people would see that? How many people would copy it? How many people's lives would you have changed without even realising it?

this made me feel like there is no point in regretting much in what I have done, in one way or another that is going to do good things in my life. anyway, it's my life. whatever I have done instead of regretting it, live the rest of life well. it motivates me, gives me hope, makes me confident.

That is exactly how I felt after reading the book. I was in a very emotional state in my life while reaching "The Midnight Library". I was burnt out and had just left bedside nursing. I felt a lot of regret in many steps in my life and felt there could have been so many places where I could have done better, been better, been stronger. But this book really came across and slapped me in the face and told me how it is. Regretting will never get you anywhere. The "what-ifs" and "if I could just go back and change this one thing" were useless and just hindering how I was living in the present. This book gave me the wake-up call telling me that I can regret but leave the regret where it's supposed to be. Carrying it with me will do me no good.

This book is soo painfully heart touching and this is the reason which made me into a bookworm. We think mistakes ruin our lives but in an another point of view, they make us beautiful and perfect

I'm with you on the existential crisis bit. At the end of the book and said crisis, I realized it's out of my control. Good things will come and go, and I have to appreciate that they come at all. No matter the decision I make, there will still be good even if the path there is a little different. The more time I spend living different lives in my head, the less I'm actually living! It did make me appreciate everything around me a little more and really made me think about my impact on other people's lives, like how small actions by "side characters" in Nora's life completely shaped hers.

In French we have a saying that goes: with “ifs” we could put Paris in a bottle. Meaning: saying or thinking “what if I did this”, “what if this happened” is useless. Actions are what matter and shape our life.

Maybe that’s why I didn’t like this book. To me the message appeared very simple and kind of useless. I was taught to focus on what could be and not on what could have been if that makes sense.

In the end the MC even chose to go with her original life even if it was miserable. She wants to focus on how she can better it. I thought she learned what I already practice in my daily life unconsciously.