I think we are well advisedto keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be whether we findthem attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced andsurprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad nightand demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who isgoing to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought wecould never forget. We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget whatwe whispered and what we screamed, forget who we were. I have alreadylost touch with a couple of people I used to be;

I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon

“We are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not.”

– Joan Didion

I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not.

In her essay “On Keeping a Notebook” [4], Joan Didion warned that “we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not.” She added: “Otherwise, they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted th