🎙️ The Books Insider Recap – The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Between life and death, there is a library. And within it, the shelves go on forever.
Hey insiders,
This week’s episode was a quiet journey inward. We opened The Midnight Library, and in doing so, we opened up a conversation about regret, choice, mental health, and the aching beauty of second chances.
Because this isn’t just a story about alternate lives. It’s a reminder that the one you’re living right now still matters.
đź“š Meet Nora: A Woman at the Edge
We began the episode by talking about Nora Seed — a woman who believes her life no longer holds value. She’s overwhelmed by loss, loneliness, and the crushing weight of “what if.” And in a moment of despair, she finds herself somewhere unexpected: a library between life and death.
But this isn’t a fantasy escape. It’s a reckoning.
We discussed how real Nora felt. Not melodramatic. Not cliché. Just deeply human. She’s someone who tried her best, got lost along the way, and started to believe it was too late.
So many listeners messaged during this episode with one word:
“Relatable.”
And that says everything.
🌌 Every Book Is a Life She Could’ve Lived
Here’s where the story turns: each book on those infinite shelves represents a life Nora could have lived if she had made a different choice. One where she became a glaciologist. One where she stayed in her band. One where she married an old flame. One where her cat didn’t die.
In the episode, we dove deep into this question:
“If you could undo one regret… would it really lead to a better life?”
Spoiler: Most of us said yes at first. But by the end of the discussion? We weren’t so sure.
🧠What We Reflected On
Regret is a story we keep telling ourselves. But most of the time, we’re only seeing one version of the past.
No life is perfect. Even the ones that look good from the outside come with new pain.
Your current life — the one you think is broken — still has the potential to shift. Right now.
This episode was deeply emotional. Not heavy. Not hopeless. But honest. We talked about depression. About how much pressure we put on ourselves to “make the right choices.” And about how liberating it is to realize… there’s no such thing as a perfect life.
Just a life that’s fully lived.
Final Thoughts from the Pod
The Midnight Library is a love letter to the messy, ordinary, painful, beautiful lives we’re already living. It doesn’t promise magic. It offers perspective.
And that perspective — that your life has value even if it doesn’t look like you thought it would — is maybe the most powerful story of all.
So if you’re in a season of questioning, give this episode a listen. And maybe ask yourself, not “What if I had chosen differently?” but:
What if I started choosing differently now?
Until next time,
You are enough.