Play Book Tag discussion

I highly recommend this book for fans (or even quasi-fans) of Ann Patchett's novels. This is a memoir told through stories and essays about various periods in the author's life. I enjoyed reading about the commonalities between her real life and her novels, and the various ways they influence one another. I particularly enjoyed reading about her extended family with three fathers, siblings, half-sibling and step siblings. (Though don't ask me to draw a family tree - I couldn't keep all the names straight.)

In the early part of this book, she provides advice for young prospective writers about college, graduate school, and other developmental opportunities for writers. She discusses the (sometimes negligent) freedom that her parents gave the children as they were growing up in different states, dividing time between parents. Her experiences left her certain that she does not want to have children. The family stories informed my interpretations and appreciation of her novel Commonwealth.

Later in the book she relates several powerful and moving stories. Two of my favorites were about her grandmother, and her lifelong relationship with the catholic sister who taught her to read. I also highly recommend reading her chapter about the controversy at Clemson University about her book Truth and Beauty. It's a stunning story. She also talked about how she became an owner of an independent bookstore in Nashville. The titular story about her marriage was also very enjoyable.

She has a second memoir These Precious Days: Essays, which I liked, but not as much as this one. There are some overlaps between the two, and I suspect that whichever you read first might be your favorite.