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Pieces of String Too Short to Use: Essays
What happens when the life you were raised to want turns out to be the wrong one?
At 19, Rachel Lewis did everything “right”: she married her high school sweetheart, stayed sweet, stayed safe. But nearly a decade later, she walked away—terrified, heartbroken, and entirely unprepared for adulthood on her own.
Pieces of String Too Short to Use is a funny, unflinching memoir-in-essays about learning to live your own life one small disaster at a time. From panic attacks at the post office to dating app fiascos, a freak quilting accident, and a spontaneous trip to South America, Rachel chronicles the slow, messy process of growing up late. This is a story of spiritual reckoning, emotional reinvention, and the unexpected joy of falling in love with your life—even if it doesn’t look the way you were told it should.
For fans of Nora McInerny, Samantha Irby, and the essays of Anne Lamott, this book is a heartbroken howl, a hopeful whisper, and a reminder that starting over doesn’t have to be brave—just real.
At 19, Rachel Lewis did everything “right”: she married her high school sweetheart, stayed sweet, stayed safe. But nearly a decade later, she walked away—terrified, heartbroken, and entirely unprepared for adulthood on her own.
Pieces of String Too Short to Use is a funny, unflinching memoir-in-essays about learning to live your own life one small disaster at a time. From panic attacks at the post office to dating app fiascos, a freak quilting accident, and a spontaneous trip to South America, Rachel chronicles the slow, messy process of growing up late. This is a story of spiritual reckoning, emotional reinvention, and the unexpected joy of falling in love with your life—even if it doesn’t look the way you were told it should.
For fans of Nora McInerny, Samantha Irby, and the essays of Anne Lamott, this book is a heartbroken howl, a hopeful whisper, and a reminder that starting over doesn’t have to be brave—just real.
223 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 15, 2025
3 people want to read
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October 5, 2025
Pieces of String To Short To Use is thoughtful, clever, vulnerable, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and thoroughly enjoyable. Lewis’s writing is clear and witty as she skillfully brings us along on her journey to face the uncertainty of life after divorce, the perils of dating, the impact of a strict religious upbringing, the complexity and love of family, and the healing of one sweet little dog. She’s unflinching in her humorous self-exploration, showing courage as she faces her anxieties, and demonstrating the contentment that comes from both living a well-examined life, and building one that you love.
Displaying 1 of 1 review