"An insomniac's ideal sleep aid―and that's a compliment. With her
collage of ruminations about sleeplessness, [Benjamin] promises no
real cure . . . Her slim book is what the doctor ordered."―The
Atlantic
Insomnia is on the rise. Villainous and unforgiving, it's the enemy o f
energy and focus, the thief of our repose. But can insomnia be an ally,
too, a validator of the present moment, of edginess and creativity?
Marina Benjamin takes on her personal experience of the condition―her
struggles with it, her insomniac highs, and her dawning awareness that
states of sleeplessness grant us valuable insights into the workings of
our unconscious minds. Although insomnia is rarely entirely welcome,
Benjamin treats it less as an affliction than as an encounter that she
engages with and plumbs. She adds new dimensions to both our
understanding of sleep (and going without it) and of night, and how we
perceive darkness.
Along the way, Insomnia trips through illuminating material from
literature, art, philosophy, psychology, pop culture, and more. Benjamin
pays particular attention to the relationship between women and
sleep―Penelope up all night, unraveling her day's weaving for Odysseus;
the Pre-Raphaelite artists' depictions of deeply sleeping women; and the
worries that keep contemporary females awake. Insomnia is an intense,
lyrical, witty, and humane exploration of a state we too often consider
only superficially. "This is the song of insomnia, and I shall sing it,"
Marina Benjamin declares.
