Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

*This post was initially written in 2018. I no longer use Amazon at all and all links from Amazon are being removed from this blog. Books are now linked to Bookshop.org, if you are interested in making purchases. The text of this post will also eventually be updated. -- 6/3/2025*

I'm not a big fan of reading via electronic devices, but I have significant down time at my job and am not allowed to have a regular book at my desk during work hours. One day, I was perusing Amazon, just goofing off, when I stumbled upon a cool perk that comes with Amazon Prime: Prime Reading!

Prime Reading is a cool bonus perk that comes with an Amazon Prime membership, allowing you free (outside of your Prime membership fees) online access to books, magazines, and other reading material. Most (maybe all?) are compatible with Amazon Kindle, although Prime Reading is NOT part of the Kindle Unlimited program. 

I've read a few books online through Prime Reading, and most recently finished Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum. Those Who Save Us is a fictional novel shifting between the modern, Midwestern United States and Nazi Germany. It also shifts between a mother and daughter's stories. 

Anna, the mother in this novel, is a young woman in Nazi Germany, living under the roof of her brutish, Nazi-sympathizer father. She begins an affair with a Jewish doctor whom she hides in her home -- practically right under her father's nose -- and by whom she becomes pregnant. Ultimately, Anna ends up seeking refuge for herself and her baby girl with a female baker who turns out to be baking bread for the Nazis while also smuggling messages out of concentration camps and work crews for the Jews. Eventually, Anna is pulled into an affair with a high ranking, but brutal Nazi officer -- an affair she continues in order to protect her child from starvation and other horrors of Nazi Germany. 

In the modern, Midwestern United States, Anna's daughter, Trudy, has many questions about her father and her mother's life before they found their way to the USA. Trudy knows nothing of the true identity of her father and knows very little about her own mother, even after moving her mother into a senior citizen's home and then into Trudy's own home. Together, the two lead quite separate and quiet existences under the same roof, even after Anna discovers and is upset by the nature of Trudy's research project as a college professor, interviewing former Nazi sympathizers (and the occasional Nazi victim). 

Ultimately, through Trudy's interviews, she learns to understand and appreciate her mother, even as her mother refuses to confirm the truth about Trudy's childhood and parentage.

Overall, Those Who Save Us is a poignant, well paced novel that is worth reading. It is both contemporary and historical fiction. I highly recommend it! 

What are you reading and enjoying right now?

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

Whoa!

If there is one book I want you to read this year, it is Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward. I was BLOWN AWAY by the lyricism of Ward's mastery over the English language combined with such an incredibly compelling story involving multiple generations, blurred lines between the living and the dead, and the interplay of race and privilege.

Sing, Unburied, Sing takes place in the modern South in the United States, specifically in rural Mississippi. It is a story covering multiple points of view--and is told from several points of view-- with overlapping and diverging concerns, goals, and experiences. The character at the heart of it all is young Jojo, a boy on the cusp of manhood, caught in that uncomfortable space of the early teen years where one often feels like a child while being expected to live up to adult-like expectations. Then, you have Jojo's little sister, three year old Kayla, their meth-addicted mother, Leonie, inmate father, Michael, and their grandparents. Woven throughout are two ghostly characters, Given and Ritchie, both of whom have passed away but whose souls are bound to earth.

Jojo, his sister, and their grandmother clearly are able to interact with the souls of the dead--those bound to earth--but in different ways and oblivious of each other's abilities. Leonie, as well, seems to possess this power, although she attributes her visions to drug-induced hallucinations.

Ward weaves multiple tales into one with an attention to detail that leads to well rounded characters, so real that I almost felt Kayla in my arms when reading from Jojo's point of view.

But, above it all, the real reason you need to read Sing, Unburied, Sing is purely for the love of language. Ward is a master. Her novel is poetic in ways that you must read to fully appreciate.

I just love this description of young Kayla speaking:

"'Hi,' Kayla says, drawing the word out so that it's two long syllables, her voice rolling up and down a hill. It's the same thing she says to her baby doll when she picks it up first thing in the morning..."

Or a description of the children's father:

"When he started getting skinny, I thought it was because of his nightmares. When his cheekbones started standing out on his face like rocks under water, I thought it was because he was stressed out over money. When his spine rose under his skin, a line of knuckles punching up his back, I thought it was because of his grief and the fact he couldn't find another welding job anywhere..."

You may realize from the two bits of text above that Sing, Unburied, Sing is not a particularly upbeat novel. When I was a teenager, my mom once told me that she won't read anything I recommend because I only like to read, as she described it, "depressing novels." I don't know that I would go that far, but Sing, Unburied, Sing is definitely heavy.

And, I loved it.

Have you read Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward? What did you think?

Haven't read it yet, but really want to? Buy it HERE on Bookshop.

This post contains affiliate links.

Book Comparison: The Girl on the Train vs Girl on a Train

In July 2016, I was perusing the stacks at my local library when a book caught my eye...

Whoa! How is the hottest book of the summer actually on the shelf? How does this not have a hold list a mile long? I couldn't believe my luck and snatched the book immediately! I took it home and started to read...I was totally drawn in and couldn't put the book down.

But...

It wasn't the book I thought it was!

I thought I had picked up The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. In reality, I had picked up Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines. Talk about similar titles! I assumed that the cover was different than what I'd seen all over social media because sometimes publishers put out more than one edition, changing the cover art from edition to edition. No big deal, right?

I'm not sure when I realized that Girl on a Train and The Girl on the Train were two different books, but as I read through the first one, I realized that I actually didn't care.

I LOVED Girl on a Train! I couldn't put it down and was annoyed when I had to stop reading to do those pesky tasks like going to work, sleeping, or taking care of my life. I was enthralled and couldn't get enough of the story. A.J. Waines put together a gripping mystery and thriller. At several points I thought I knew what was going to happen next only to be proven wrong. It was a page turner and I will definitely be reading more by Waines in the future!

Now, fast forward to this past month. I found myself stuck at the airport, my flight delayed, and nothing but boredom ahead. I hadn't brought a bunch of books or magazines or other distractions as I was taking a fast trip and wouldn't have much downtime. So, what does a girl do? She heads to the travel mart and picks up a few books, among them The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

I remembered what a huge hit The Girl on the Train had been and a few friends with similar reading tastes had greatly enjoyed it. Why not give it a read?

I wanted to love The Girl on the Train.
I wanted to put it down and exclaim, "That was totally worth it!"
I wanted to agree with my friends that this had been an amazing book purchase!

I couldn't do any of those three things.

In fairness, I did enjoy The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. I found the novel's style and storyline interesting. I would recommend it as an interesting read.

While Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines was a straightforward novel told from one point of view, The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was told from alternating points of view, bouncing among three female characters and two timelines. Each character was well developed and thus it was pretty easy to keep track of who was narrating each section. Unfortunately, I didn't find The Girl on the Train as suspenseful as I had hoped it would be. Both are worth reading, but ultimately, The Girl on the Train was at least entertaining.

I originally rated Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines as a 5 out of 5 must read in THIS blog post. I'm giving The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins a 4 out of 5.

Have you read either? Both? What did you think?

This post contains affiliate links.

Purchases made through these links may result

in a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Thank you! Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines may be available on Amazon. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is available on Bookshop HERE.

2017 Bookish Roundup

It's been a very long while since my last post and long time since I've updated my reading list! Whoa! 2017 was a particularly rough year for my family with my uncle (and best friend and mentor and champion) being diagnosed with and eventually dying from a stage IV glioblastoma (a really bad, aggressive brain tumor), my mom being moved into a memory care facility due to worsening dementia symptoms, and myself having gastrointestinal issues that had me quite ill for months on end and finally resulted in surgery. 

Thankfully 2017 is coming to a close and life is starting to look up. 

I'm also back to more regular reading, and I'm quite happy about that!

Without further ado, here are some of my 2017 reading stats, the five books I loved the most, and the books I'm currently reading as I finish out the year:

Books read in 2016: 39

Books read in 2017: 23

The five books I loved the most from my 2017 reading:
Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor
Stir is equal parts memoir and cookbook--honestly, this kind of crossover is my favorite genre! I love memoirs infused with recipes and delicious food! Fechtor suffered a horrific medical event that could have killed her and it ruined her ability to smell or taste food for a long time. She worked hard to fight her way back from illness to her life and she talks about how food and cooking are a huge part of her life and connect her to memories of childhood and growing up.  (Get it on Bookshop HERE)

Bon Appetempt: A Coming of Age Story (with recipes) by Amelia Morris
Another memoir/cookbook crossover! Seriously, I can't get enough of this type of book! Bon Appetempt is set in Paris, France which adds a fun dimension to the memoir/crossover. Morris writes about her experiences as a US expat in Paris, her job journey, relationship, markets in Paris, and cooking. I devoured it! (Get in Bookshop HERE)

The Scavenger's Daughters by Kay Bratt
The Scavenger's Daughter was a delightful find on Amazon Prime Reading (NOT the same thing as Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program!). I stumbled upon it at work when NOTHING was happening and NOTHING had been happening for hours on end--shhhh! Don't tell my boss! I rarely read on a tablet, computer, or device, preferring actual books in hand, but Amazon Prime Reading has saved me from falling asleep due to boredom at work when NOTHING is happening, everything is completely caught up, and there's nothing more to do while I wait for a patient to sign in (I work in patient registration in an Emergency Department). 

Anyhow, The Scavenger's Daughters is a fictional piece about a man and his wife who survived the Cultural Revolution in China, but due to a variety of reasons, the husband is unable to work beyond being a scavenger. He picks up other people's discards and resells them to earn money. During the course of his scavenging, over several years, he has also happened upon discarded female babies and children! He rescues these girls and he and his wife raise them as their daughters. The novel is a lovely story about the love of family and the fact that family is what you make it. There's a lot more to it, but that's the most boiled down version I can offer. (Get it on Bookshop HERE.)

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi
Whoa! When Breath Becomes Air is a TEAR JERKER! Have tissues at hand, and if you read it in public, be prepared to cry in front of others! This is one of only maybe three books that have ever made my cry in public, and I wasn't the least bit embarrassed or ashamed. That's how powerful this memoir is. Kalinithi was a medical resident in neurosurgery and found himself facing cancer which ultimately took his life. The book is both sad and uplifting at the same time. If I could only recommend ONE book from my 2017 reading, it would be this one! (Get it on Bookshop HERE)

No Other World by Rahul Mehta
No Other World was a random library grab and I'm so glad I brought it home! I'm not sure why I picked it up initially--the cover isn't all that amazing and I didn't read the flap. I just grabbed it and checked it out, and I'm so glad I did! Mehta did a masterful job of writing a novel that crosses cultures, carefully explores coming of age, and captures both the loveliness and cruelty of being a young person lost in the world. Please note, however, that if you find sexual scenes offensive, this novel is not for you--there are a couple of scenes that depict abuse and a few that are coming of age. (Get it on Bookshop HERE)

The books I read in 2017 were almost entirely excellent! Boiling down my favorites to only five was no easy feat! 

The books I'm currently reading as I finish out 2017:

• The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins -- not to be confused with Girl on a Train by AJ Waines (one of my 2016 favorites!)
• The Whistler by John Grisham
• The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan
• Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward

My reading goals for 2018 include:

• Weekly reading blog posts
• Donate 48 books to children's literacy projects/groups
• Start a monthly silent reading group

How did your reading goals go in 2017? Do you have reading goals for 2018? Post a comment and let me know!

This post contains affiliate links. Purchasing via these posts may result in a small commission for me. 

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor

I haven't blogged about my reading in a long while and it's also been a while since I've actually done any really substantial reading.

Over the past couple of weeks, I've had the opportunity to get back into my reading habit thanks to a medical crisis that has caused me to spend a lot of time on my couch. Thankfully, I'm feeling a lot better thanks to an abdominal surgery*, but I'm also feeling better due to all of the reading I've been doing. I didn't realize just how much I've missed reading!

In addition to my health issue, I've also just let the everyday stresses of life and work get to me. I let reading go by the wayside even though books have always been one of my primary means of relaxation and escape.

Sigh...

Well, on to one of the first books I've really dived into over the past couple of weeks...

Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor is a book that was nourishing on so many levels! It was a terrific read, allowed me to focus on someone else's medical problems instead of my own, and it was chock full of food, food, food! Most chapters end with a recipe, almost all of which sound absolutely dreamy!

Naturally, I haven't tried any of the recipes since I read Stir while I was on a highly restricted diet...I'm not sure if that was the best idea, but reading about food and reading recipes did give me something to look forward to once my recovery is completely done and I'm back to a normal diet.

Stir is a memoir--and I LOVE memoirs--about a young, intelligent woman who suffers a ruptured brain aneurysm that renders her incapable of doing almost anything that is part of her normal life. When Fechtor had her medical emergency, she was a PhD student and at the start of her marriage. She loved food and cooking, and was looking forward to starting a family. One moment she was on a treadmill and the next she was on the floor with the worst headache of her life and a long road of uncertainty ahead of her.

Fechtor's book combines so much of what I love in memoirs. She is able to bring together a good mix of seriousness with humor with moments that remind the reader that we are all human. Fechtor also writes with fondness of her parents and other relationships and makes it clear that our childhood memories carry on with us well into adulthood.

As I read about Fechtor's experiences cooking with her stepmom, I was reminded of many mornings and afternoon spent at my grandmother and great-grandmother's kitchen counters--I could practically smell the cinnamon and apples and could just about taste my great-grandmother's bread-and-butter pickles.

If you want to bring alive your food memories, you MUST read Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home. Not only will it bring up memories of food's intersection with your own upbringing, but you will come away with several new recipes as well. I've already written a grocery list and can't wait to make a mess of my kitchen with all the baking and cooking Fechtor has inspired!

You can buy Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor on Bookshop HERE (please note, there are two cover versions as of my writing this post).

This post contains affiliate links.

*If you are curious, I had a cecal bascule, a type of volvulus or twisting of the large intestine that can cause a bowel obstruction. Initially, this appeared to correct itself, but then I continued to have symptoms. We (myself, my GI doctor, and two surgeons) decided that even if it appeared resolved on CT scans, the fact that I was continuing to have symptoms and the fact that it could recur at any time and potentially have life-threatening consequences, surgery seemed appropriate.  As of this writing, I am 10 days post-surgery and feeling much better, although I still have some healing to do and it could be a few more weeks before we know if the surgery resolved my symptoms. If nothing else, the surgery will 100% prevent the potential life-threatening consequences due to recurrence--quite simply, the part of my colon involved was removed and thus the potential for recurrence is ZERO.

The Girl in the Spider's Web is a big disappointment

I put off reading The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz for a good long while. I was just so afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations due to how much I loved the original three books in the Girl with a Dragon Tattoo series by Steig Larsson, as well as the movies based on the books.

I am glad I finally read The Girl in the Spider's Web, but it absolutely was nowhere near as good as the original series. In fact, there were parts that I found to be just downright irrelevant and even, dare I say, stupid.

There were also several aspects to the story that simply weren't well developed and others that were so incongruous with the original series that they made it difficult to take much of the novel seriously.

Lisbeth Salander is one of my favorite literary characters, and Lagercrantz dropped some of the tight, focused aspects of her personality while adding in other details that didn't fit with the character all that well. I wondered how much of this was due to Lagercrantz's own spin on the series versus Larsson's original notes for the book versus a lack of attention to detail by Lagercrantz with regard to the original series.

My other issue with this book is the translation. Perhaps it was translated for a British audience? I don't know...there were numerous spots where the translation felt clunky and where terms that were particularly colloquial were used (for example "sticky plaster" instead of "Band-Aid" or "bandage").

In general, I found the discrepancies between this novel and the original series to be quite glaring and I do NOT recommend this book.

In fact, I found the differences to be so huge and the side stories or background details so odd that I actually want to go back through the original three books and this one so I can map out all of the details--every little one!--to see if my impressions of this book are accurate or if I'm forgetting details of the original series. So, you may see some related posts coming out soon!

Although there were a few sections of the book and story that I liked, overall it was a huge disappointment--so much so that I am NOT linking to this book at all. Instead, check out my profile on Bookshop.org for other great books! If you *really* want to buy this one, I do have it linked there...

Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines

Whoa!

That's what I have to say about Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines--Whoa!

I picked up this book due to a vague sense that the title was familiar and one I wanted to read. Well, it turns out that it wasn't actually the book I had in mind--that book is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.

A few notes about Girl on a Train...
First, it is a self-published title on Amazon Create Space. In the past, I've not been overly thrilled with self-published works, but this is the first time I've handled or read something published on Create Space. I was truly surprised. It looks and feels just like any other professionally published novel. In fact, I only realized it was self-published when I went to post about it on my personal Facebook page and on Instagram. In those posts, I generally include the publisher. I only realized Girl on a Train when I couldn't find the publisher information and finally looked it up online.

Second, although the quality of the book was excellent, there were a few formatting errors. I have no idea if they were due to a glitch or overlooked by the author before she published, or what, but they are there. Mostly it is paragraphs breaking in the middle of a sentence. Thankfully, there aren't too many of them.

Now on to the review...
Girl on a Train is a thriller set in England and it delivers! Waines has crafted a page turner with suspense and intrigue throughout. She also deftly develops her characters and relationships in a way that make them all feel real.

The book truly is about a girl on a train and the events that lead up to her death and how the murder is uncovered.

The story centers around Elly Swift, the girl on the train, and Anna Rothman. The two characters meet on a train and the intrigue begins! Ultimately, Elly is murdered, but due to the circumstances, the cause of death is listed as suicide. Anna doesn't buy it. Anna has her own experience with suicide and doesn't think Elly's behavior fits. Unfortunately, proving that Elly was murdered isn't so easy.

What's interesting, besides the intrigue and mystery, is that Waines has also built a novel around a woman who is rather lonely and who has suffered a major emotional trauma. As a result of that emotional trauma, she's cut herself off from all but a minimum of personal relationships. Over the course of the story, Anna builds new relationships and ends up with a multitude of friends and supporters.

In fact, I enjoyed the side story revolving around Anna and her relationships that I'd like to read more about her and her life!

This novel includes murder, two suicides that might not be suicides, attempted murder, a sociopath, finding new family and friends in unexpected places, and a couple of twists you just won't see coming.

I highly recommend this fresh, fast, exciting novel!

I found Girl on a Train by A.J. Waines at my local library, but because its' self-published via Amazon Create Space, you might not be able to find it at yours. Unfortunately, it's not available on Bookshop.org.

This post contains affiliate links.

The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel

In addition to just finishing Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø, I also just finished The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel. I honestly only picked this novel up because it takes place in France and touches upon Paris. I guess I was feeling a particularly acute case of wanderlust at the library last week when selecting reading materials! Most of the fiction I picked up takes place in countries other than my own--the USA. 

Anyhow, I definitely didn't pick it up due to the cover--a rather unpleasing mix of shades of green and yellow that I dislike. And, I didn't pick it up due to the story line--two former lovers meet again on a train. However, I was pleasantly surprised and ended up enjoying this little, fast read so much that I wanted more. 

The 6:41 to Paris is indeed about two former lovers meeting again on a train, 27 years after a relationship that ended suddenly and badly in a room in London--an ending that was so jarring for one of the characters that she never returned to London again, and even went out of her way in all of her travels to avoid the whole of Great Britain. Interestingly, after the end of this love affair, she went on to great success in her life, maybe all the more so because of how the relationship came to an end.

However, the novel does center on both parties from that former affair and is written from both points of view. This was difficult to get used to at first--I had to go back and reread the first several pages as the the author doesn't clearly denote the change of point of view. Eventually, it became clear that the shift in point of views was signaled by the layout of the book with each shift starting much as if it were its own chapter, on a separate page, but even this was without chapter headings or demarcations otherwise. 

This novel takes place almost entirely in the thoughts of the two characters with very brief--and I do mean very brief--bits of dialogue. You get a sense of who these two people were, are, and will become by their thoughts, and as I read, my feelings towards each character shifted from sympathy to frustration to care. I wouldn't necessarily want to sit down to coffee with either of these characters, but that is part of Blondel's genius in this novel. He makes his characters feel REAL. They have the same worries, hopes, frustrations, lingering disappointments, and so on as the rest of us. His characters feel fully formed and human. 

And, the book has such a perfect ending that you can't help but to wonder, what next?

The entire story takes place on a train ride that is less than two hours long, yet the arc of what these characters have been through together and separately spans nearly three decades. 

The 6:41 to Paris is masterful and I will definitely seek out more from Jean-Philippe Blondel!

I rate this as 5 out of 5!

Pick up The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel at your local library or buy it on Bookshop HERE.

If you enjoy books set in France, you might also enjoy the memoir Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard.

Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbo

My reading dropped off quite a bit in April and May, but in June I've managed to start and finish two books so far with a few others well under way. 

The first novel that I finished this month is Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø. This was my first read by Nesbø and I loved it! I as looking for something easy but with a strong enough plot to keep me interested and Midnight Sun was perfect. 

The novel is mostly one of suspense with the occasional bit of thriller thrown in. I can see why some might not enjoy the book as there are several sections where pages upon pages are primarily devoted to the main character's thoughts. But, I like that kind of approach--I enjoy being inside someone else's head, even if it's a fictional character. 

The main character, Jon, is on the run after failing to complete a hit--to kill someone--for his boss. In fact, he'd actually never killed anyone before to begin with. The problem is, his boss, the Fisherman, always gets his guy and never stops looking. So, Jon skips town with pretty much nothing but the clothes on his back and a bunch of money. He finds his way to one of the most remote places in all of Norway, a tiny village that turns out to be a sort of religious enclave with its own secrets, dangers, and stories. He introduces himself by a new name, Ulf, and is suspicious of everyone in the town but two people--a young boy named Knut and Knut's mother, Lea. 

Can you see where this is going?

Of course, there's a bit of a romantic tension and undercurrent and you can see from a mile away that Jon--or Ulf--and Lea are meant for each other. Immediately Ulf and Knut form a bond with Knut becoming a sort of guidepost for Ulf, even if they aren't aware of it. Lea, however, has demons of her own and they come back to haunt her partway through the novel. Meanwhile, Ulf makes a mistake here and there and risks it all for a few seconds with another woman which could potentially be his undoing and the end of him later in the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the mix of tension, suspense, romance, and the rare episodes of humor. I continued to enjoy the book even when I was able to predict what would happen next. It truly kept my attention. It also made me want to visit the remote parts of Norway that set the scene for the novel; although, I will pass at fish balls and some of the other foods mentioned.  

The scenery is as much a character in this novel as the people with wide swaths of open land, rocky shorelines, and a road that winds its way through hills and plateaus to the next town. There's even a bit of nature with an elk--a substory of it's own that was heartbreaking in the end, even though it ends up saving Ulf's life. 

I will definitely reading more of Nesbø's work in the future!

I recommend this book with 5 out of 5 stars.

Pick up Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø from your local library or from Bookshop HERE. 

 This post contains affiliate links.

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 Bookshop 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: