Blogging Woolf

Does moving drive one mad?

The last time, I changed residences — 15 years ago — I felt utterly exhausted by the end of moving day, but I did not feel mad.

However, on that stifling hot and humid day in June, my two teenage sons probably thought I was. That is because I informed them that the next time I moved, it would be into a nursing home — and the two of them would have to do all of my packing and hauling themselves. 

A new book by Louise DeSalvo, On Moving: A Writer’s Meditation on New Houses, Old Haunts, and Finding Home Again explores the “troubled homemaking histories” of famous writers. It posits that for some, “moving can be paired with madness,” according to a review in the New York Times.

Check out the book and see whether you agree with DeSalvo’s theories about Woolf’s moves. You can read the first chapter here.