Films & Books for Summertime Sadness

We can try to evade it — by diving into a pool or taking a vacation or busying our schedule with concerts and festivals and friends — but Summertime Sadness inevitably finds a way to catch up with us, no matter how much we love the season.

The light in the park looked so different this morning on my dog walk, and there were brown and yellow leaves scattered on the ground for the first time this year. I started tearing up. Even while at the pool with one of my best friends today, I kept thinking about summer days with my mom — she’d pack up a pool bag, and we’d spend all day swimming and reading together. Days I can never reclaim.

Everything feels fleeting in the summer — even on the most idyllic days, I feel the passing of time and how I can’t stop it, really. During my younger years as both a student (and teacher), every perfect summer day also meant one step closer to the dreaded school year. Lately, I’ve been feeling like my entire life right now in my 30s is considered “summer,” with every day passing as a reminder that I’m aging.

Feeling sad in the summertime feels so incredibly absurd sometimes. While Winter Blues are very common, Summertime Sadness feels reserved for those who tend to be perpetually melancholic or even lovesick (Every breakup I’ve ever had happened in the summertime or right before, and even my parents’ divorce too, and I’m sure those feelings creep back on me too). SAD (seasonal affective disorder) can absolutely exist even when the pool party invites and patio hangouts are flowing in, though! There’s a plethora of research that actually suggests high temperatures can adversely affect moods.

Embracing these complex emotions is crucial, in my opinion. And what better way than to watch a film about star-crossed lovers or read a novel about the pains of growing up?!

I present to you: My Exclusive List of Films & Books to watch alongside your Summertime Sadness

FILMS

Perfect Days — for when you need a reminder to see the beauty in the mundane

Worst Person in the World — for when you feel like you made a mistake and need a reminder it will all work out…

La La Land — …for when it just doesn’t work out

Her — for when you’re heartbroken & lonely

The Talented Mr. Ripley — for when you have imposter’s syndrome

Past Lives — for when you need to sob for a straight two hours after making a very difficult choice

Call Me By Your Name — for reflecting on the love that couldn’t have been

A Brighter Summer Day — for when you’re thinking about your first summer love

Only Yesterday — for when you’re feeling nostalgic for your childhood

The Green Ray — for when you’re feeling like you’ll never find ‘the one’

BOOKS

Bonjour Tristesse — by Francoise Sagan — for a hot summer day of plotting to break up your dad’s relationship

Giovanni’s Room — by James Baldwin — for when you’re caught up in all consuming love affair you can’t tell anyone else about

Summer Crossing — by Truman Capote — for when you’re feeling nostalgic about summers as a careless 20-something

Play it as It Lays — by Joan Didion — for when you’re questioning your career, your relationship, and possibly your alcohol consumption

Slow Days, Fast Company — by Eve Babitz — for when you’re asking yourself if you should move to L.A. on the daily

Getting Lost — by Annie Ernaux — for when your crush turns into an obsession

My Brilliant Friend — by Elena Ferrante — for that dose of growing-up pains, and a dose of Italian sun

Plus all the rest of the books on my list below!

Happy (or sad, no judgement) reading or watching,
xx Sav