The Sadness Book - A Journal To Let Go

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I’ll give myself a mark, shall I?” he says. “Right, fair enough. No, I think this is quite a good thing to do actually. Like they did at the Beeb. Every now and then you have to do a little…” What they haven't known is that I wasn't ever allowed to be sad as a child. Many of us weren't. In my household, I could be angry. I could be as angry as often as I needed to be, I just needed to be angry, alone, in my room. I’m not sure this book would be suitable for a sensitive child who had not lost a loved one, especially as Rosen is writing about the sudden death of his son, but for anyone in the early throes of grief, including young children, it’s beautiful, cathartic, and true. Every day I try to do one thing I can be proud of. Then, when I go to bed, I think very, very hard about this one thing.”

The practical effects used throughout are spectacular, just unbelievable. This is a gore fest that delivers over and over again. I cannot understate how blown away I was by the effects work, it’s the best I have ever seen. Its stomach churning stuff but in the best way possible. This type of zombie or rage virus is super inventive and original. The whole concept is equal parts sad and terrifying all at once. Director Karen Maine’s new comedy, Rosaline, works overtime to find a new perspective in one of the most well-known stories of all time. The tale in question? None other than William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, which remains so iconic that its influence continues to be felt today. As its title suggests, Maine's film does not place its focus on either of that play’s eponymous, star-crossed lovers, though, but rather on the woman who had originally captured young Romeo’s heart before he set his eyes for the first time on her cousin, Juliet. On a stormy Christmas Eve, a secretive sheriff gets a visit from a mysterious woman who recounts a series of bizarre stories involving missing persons. As her stories begin to unfold, the depraved deeds of the sleepy town find themselves coming to life; conjuring vibrations of a disturbing telephone call, a mysterious ice cream man, a missing friend, and broken promises with dire repercussions.Ouch. It doesn't get any easier when you learn what makes Rosen most sad. His son Eddie died when he was 18. "I loved him very, very much," Rosen says, "but he died anyway." So... yeah. Is this a great book? Yes. Absolutely. It's honest and emotional. But reading it now, as a father, I don't enjoy it nearly as much, and I don't think it's a good book for young children, despite it being in picture book format.

After a while, one should expect nasty things from the various supporting characters that Kat and Jim meet, even the ones who seem relatively benign despite their glaring eccentricities and character flaws. I wish I could say I was able to out-think or stay ahead of this movie’s schematic plot, but I was often so overwhelmed that I couldn’t think far enough ahead to anticipate each successive rug pull. But what makes the story most singular and rewarding is that it refuses to indulge the cultural cliché of cushioning tragedy with the promise of a silver lining. It is redemptive not in manufacturing redemption but in being true to the human experience — intensely, beautifully, tragically true.

What makes me most sad is when I think about my son Eddie. He died. I loved him very, very much but he died anyway." I guess I have sad thoughts every day. But I try not to be overcome by them’: Michael Rosen. Photograph: Pål Hansen/The Observer