What Now? by Ann Patchett

I wanted to love What Now? by Ann Patchett. I wanted to be able to read it and exclaim over and over "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

But, I just couldn't.

Maybe it was because I'm much older than the average person in the audience when Patchett gave her commencement speech at Sarah Lawrence College, the speech upon which this book is based.

Like Patchett, I am a Sarah Lawrence Graduate, but she received her Bachelor's degree from the school while I earned an MFA in Writing. Patchett also had attended Sarah Lawrence straight out of high school as a young woman just beginning to find her way in the world. I went to Sarah Lawrence as a woman in her late 30s and as a single mother. Patchett's experiences were framed by the lens of living on campus in student housing. My son and I lived a little over a mile away in a regular apartment building.

While I greatly appreciated this little book and am glad I read it, I didn't connect with it as deeply as I had hoped. Perhaps if I was younger and had just finished a milestone and was looking forward to my next "What now?" moment, it would have had more meaning.

I did enjoy the no fuss, realistic, and practical advice given by Patchett in this piece, but what I enjoyed most was the story of how she found her way into the home of the school's then president, Alice Stone Ilchman. At a time when the young Patchett felt lonely and a bit lost, happenstance brought her to Ilchman's house without her even realizing who the house belonged to. That led to a number of circumstances later--after college--that allowed Patchett to eek out a living as she pondered her many moments of "What now?" before she began to have publishing success.

But, the other feature of What now? that I truly loved was the amazing images throughout. I would suggest picking up the book even if only for the pictures. If you allow yourself to really spend time looking at them, they can invite you into a contemplative state.

  

I recommend this book with 4 of 5 stars.

Pick up What Now? by Ann Patchett at your local library or from Amazon HERE.

Find my other non-fiction reviews HERE.

And, as a bonus, take a listen to writer Elizabeth Gilbert and Ann Patchett talking about the creative life: