Book Review - The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood

Love and loss changes a person and the way your life unfolds cannot always be predicted. Mary Baxter is dealing with a great grief. Though reluctant, she joins a knitting circle and finds that this helps her move on through the stages of her healing journey. The book has a simple premise, that people dealing with grief and loss can find a way forward through starting a simple physical process of learning to knit. The process engages the hands and distracts the brain so they can do it at a level they can manage. The more complicated stitches and patterns can be introduced gradually to match their developing functional capability. The act of creating even a simple scarf, out of a repetitive and almost meditative process is quite therapeutic. It also connects them with other people on a very unthreatening level and helps to break down the isolation of their grieving. Even getting help to unravel a tangle or rescue a dropped stitch is practice interacting with and receiving help from other people. As they start to develop knitting skills, they, in turn can 'pay it forward' and help start others on their journey. As Mary gets to know each of the other knitters, and their stories, she finds how to love and live again. This is a quiet novel of loss and grief and it made me cry. It's also a novel of healing, sharing, friendship and love. I'm glad I read it and I'm glad I have found friends who taught me how to knit. Wendy