Still alive, still alive!

Alive, Alive, Oh! And Other Things That Matter

“Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit.”
After "Dim Pages," ninety-something Diana Athill decided to move into a nursing home.
The last ten years of life, still full of joy
From the vantage point of 98, looking back at life's shining fragments
—The scent of hyacinths, the moments lost in paintings, outweigh all satisfying achievements
Under the breath of death, she plants roses in the nursing home, letting out a soft laugh
—Reporting to everyone, the roses and I are alive, still alive!
🌊
Editor's recommendation:
◎After "Dim Pages," ninety-something Diana Athill decided to move into a nursing home. Under the breath of death, she wrote this life report on "being alive."
★Delightful social life in a nursing home: new friendships among seniors lingering on each other's pasts, popular teddy bear picnics, wobbly challenges of planting roses
・One benefit of the body almost losing all its capabilities is that even accomplishing a small task gives you a great sense of achievement. And right now, I can report to everyone that five months later, all six of these rose bushes have sprouted.
★Nursing home principles emphasizing "respect" and "rationality":
・Despite the changing times, Lady Mary's influence is still clearly felt in one important aspect—she has always been strict about the concept of "respect": those who receive help from the guild must not feel the slightest humiliation.
・One of the reasons I like this nursing home is its rational and pragmatic attitude towards death, where staff unhesitatingly ask you: Do you prefer to die in the nursing home or in the hospital? Do you want to live no matter what, or would you rather let nature take its course, for example, during a heart attack? And how do you wish your affairs to be handled after death?
★A broad-minded attitude of living facing death:
・From the feedback I’ve received on my book "Dim Pages," I've gradually come to understand that the "taboo on discussing death" that I experienced in my youth is disappearing.
・Death is no longer a distant future, but something that can happen at any time. You might think this would make people more afraid, but from what I've seen, the opposite is true. Precisely because death is imminent, it becomes something we need to prepare for.
✍🏻
◎Looking back on life, the most precious things are not achievements, but every moment of being alive:
All passionate loves and satisfying achievements are not as good as the scent of hyacinths or moments lost in paintings. Embracing every moment of nature and beauty is the "being alive" itself that is worth celebrating.
・In ninety-seven years of life, I have collected countless memory images of beautiful sights and customs, and now, it seems there are even more than I had realized; they are now rushing into my mind, vying for attention.
・There's a patch of woodland nearby, sloping down to the river, carpeted with hyacinths, echoing the rising sun and emitting a rich fragrance, more intense than any hyacinth scent I had ever known. ... I'm not at all surprised that those few minutes of beautiful memory in the woodland are still vivid today.
・Observing things is never a waste of time. If your child wants to stand there and stare, let them.
👁️
◎She is a rational observer of life and a sensitive experiencer of the present moment. Her highest principle in life is not to be an enemy to herself:
★Facing "Britain no longer great":
・Perhaps our island is unlikely to function well on its own strength, and we will have to settle for becoming a tax haven for the rich of other countries? (I will certainly be dead before the answer is revealed, and for that I am very glad.)
★Facing the fear of moving into a nursing home:
・When fear struck, I was entirely consumed by the feeling, but like nausea, it eventually passes. ... A wise decision does not become unwise simply because it eventually needs to be acted upon. I must accept this fact and calmly persevere.
★Facing family members with different values:
・I love my family, and my family loves me, but from a very young age, I began to understand that loving others doesn't necessarily mean agreeing with all their views.
★Facing miscarriage and loss:
・The truth is, I love the feeling of being alive so much. For me, being able to survive is far more important than losing a child, even more important than anything else in the world.
📚
◎Portable hardcover small format, with a purple + gray cover, featuring a painting of Athill sitting alone in her nursing home room—reading a newspaper with reading glasses, plants sprouting beside her. Life continues to unfold.
📖
Synopsis:
Published in 2015, on the eve of Diana Athill's 98th birthday, this book is a collection of ten essays and a short poem.
In her room at the Highgate nursing home in London, Diana reflects with elegant and affectionate prose on the moments that truly defined her life: a fragrant childhood in the Norfolk estate, free travels as a young woman after World War II, family members with differing values yet mutual love, unexpected encounters with natural beauty and moments of reverie, the determined embrace of nursing home life after turning ninety, and the profound experience of a miscarriage and near-death at 43—it was the intense gratitude of surviving from the brink of death that made her feel: "I'm alive, and that's enough. Those four words are everything."
With warmth, humor, and sharp honesty, she recalls the shining fragments of her long life and shares the true state of mind in old age. A fortunate life requires both divine favor and exceptional breadth of mind and wisdom: in Diana's memories, every stage of life has its own joy and richness. Therefore, she wrote this little book with great interest, presenting a report on "being alive" from a 98-year-old.
🎙️
Media praise:
This book exudes the joy of life. Athill… happily savors her experiences—even those that were not necessarily pleasant at the time—and cherishes her still vibrant present life.
—The Independent
Fascinating… At 98, Diana Athill still teaches us how to age with dignity, humor, and grace… Insightful and beautifully written.
—Associated Press
This book is not a single, continuous work, but a collection of ten essays and a short poem. However, considering that Athill will turn 98 this December, this fragmented structure undoubtedly stems from pragmatic considerations—as 94-year-old performance artist Ilona Smikin said in the 2014 documentary "Advanced Style," at her age, she no longer dares to buy green bananas, because no one can guarantee they will live long enough for the bananas to ripen. Nevertheless, this concise writing style does not diminish the reading pleasure of the work at all.
—The Independent
Athill's signature style is concise and precise prose, always making readers want to grab a pen and underline sentences.
—The Guardian

2026-05-01

江苏凤凰文艺出版社

Houlang / Houlang Literature

208

9787580807205