by Ann Patchett
The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays.
"The elegance of Patchett's prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly
"Any story that starts will also end." As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores "what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self." When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks' short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom's brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both.
A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer's eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be.
From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo's children's books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz's Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author's grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays.
"The elegance of Patchett's prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." —Publisher's Weekly
"Any story that starts will also end." As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart.
At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a surprising and moving meditation on an unexpected friendship that explores "what it means to be seen, to find someone with whom you can be your best and most complete self." When Patchett chose an early galley of actor and producer Tom Hanks' short story collection to read one night before bed, she had no idea that this single choice would be life changing. It would introduce her to a remarkable woman—Tom's brilliant assistant Sooki—with whom she would form a profound bond that held monumental consequences for them both.
A literary alchemist, Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer's eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be.
From the enchantments of Kate DiCamillo's children's books (author of The Beatryce Prophecy) to youthful memories of Paris; the cherished life gifts given by her three fathers to the unexpected influence of Charles Schultz's Snoopy; the expansive vision of Eudora Welty to the importance of knitting, Patchett connects life and art as she illuminates what matters most. Infused with the author's grace, wit, and warmth, the pieces in These Precious Days resonate deep in the soul, leaving an indelible mark—and demonstrate why Ann Patchett is one of the most celebrated writers of our time.
Reviews-
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July 1, 2021
In this essay collection, the New York Times best-selling Pulitzer Prize finalist Patchett reveals the pleasures of the unexpected, looking at her own life to illuminate ours. The title essay, for instance, relates how reading an early galley of actor Tom Hanks's story collection led to a meaningful friendship with his assistant, while "My Three Fathers" maps Patchett's complex interactions with her biological father and the two other fathers she acquired along the way, showing what each has contributed to her life. Elsewhere, she ranges from the particular charms of Kate DiCamillo's children's books and Charles Schulz's Snoopy, to memories of Paris and the joys of knitting. With a 150,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Starred review from August 16, 2021
In this eloquent collection, novelist Patchett (The Dutch House) meditates poignantly—and often with wry humor—on “what I needed, whom I loved, what I could let go, and how much energy the letting go would take.” In “How to Practice,” Patchett writes of her “journey of digging out” and the feeling of lightness she begins to notice as she gets rid of possessions. In the title essay, she shares the story of Sooki, Tom Hanks’s publicist, whom Patchett invited into her home and offered solace and comfort as Sooki underwent pancreatic cancer treatments: “What Sooki gave me was a sense of order, a sense of God, the God of Sister Nena, the God of my childhood, a belief that I had gone into my study one night and picked up the right book from the hundred books that were there because I was meant to.” Other essays cover the lessons Patchett learned on her first Thanksgiving away from home, insights from a year in which she didn’t go shopping, and what she’s picked up from Snoopy. The elegance of Patchett’s prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike. The result is a moving collection not easily forgotten. -
September 1, 2021
In a series of essays, the beloved novelist opens the door and invites you into her world. As she herself is aware, Patchett has a gift for friendship--never clearer than in the magical and heartbreaking title essay, which made the rounds from friend to friend by way of texted links when originally published in Harper's during the pandemic. (If you haven't read it yet, get ready for Tom Hanks, Kundalini yoga, cancer treatment, and a profound yearning to be a guest in Patchett's Nashville home.) Like This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (2013), this book contains a mixture of occasional essays and profound ones, all previously published. Patchett includes the text of a wonderful lecture on her "feral" experience in graduate school in Iowa and an introduction written for the collected stories of Eudora Welty that seems as perfect as the stories themselves. In addition to family and friendship--"Three Fathers" and "Flight Plan" are standouts in this category--several essays deal with aspects of the writing life. The author explores the process of managing one's papers and offers various angles on how one comes to the vocation of literature. "Influence," she writes, "is a combination of circumstance and luck: what we are shown and what we stumble upon in those brief years when our hearts and minds are fully open." Patchett also writes delightfully about Snoopy, the cartoon beagle and would-be novelist, first among her literary influences. Toward the end of the book, Patchett digs into Updike, Bellow, and Roth. Perhaps a few of the slighter pieces could have been left out, but even those have great lines and interesting paragraphs. A bracingly testy essay about the author's decision not to have children will give readers crucial pointers on conversational gambits to avoid should you ever get that houseguest invitation. An enviable life shared with candor, emotion, and knockout storytelling power.COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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September 15, 2021
Patchett, whose most recent novel is The Dutch House (2019), is an exhilarating and provocative essayist. This substantial autobiographical collection builds on This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage (2013), excavating the sources of her covert ferocity and intense literary passion. Her family tales include a portrait of her three fathers; one tried to dissuade her from becoming a writer, another hoped to follow in her footsteps. Mischievously funny and nimbly incisive, Patchett celebrates her close friendship with a nun; pays tribute to an unlikely muse, Snoopy; explains why she doesn't have children, then describes how much fun she's had collaborating on children's books with best-selling illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser. Patchett elucidates all that running Parnassus Books in Nashville has done for her. In the enthralling title essay, she tells the many-faceted story of how she met Tom Hanks' assistant, artist Sooki Raphael, and how Sooki ended up staying with Patchett and her doctor-pilot husband as Sooki battled cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Breathtakingly candid, Patchett attains graceful velocity and tilt, her vibrant sentences serving as divining rods for piquant life lessons.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"To read this collection is to be invited into that sacred space where a writer steps out from behind the page to say Hello; let's really get to know each other. Stoic, kindhearted, fierce, funny, brainy, Patchett's essays honor what matters most 'in this precarious and precious life.'" — Oprah Daily
"The elegance of Patchett's prose is seductive and inviting: with Patchett as a guide, readers will really get to grips with the power of struggles, failures, and triumphs alike." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Patchett's heart, smarts and 40 years of craft create an economy that delivers her perfectly understated stories emotionally whole. Her writing style is most gloriously her own." — New York Times Book Review
"Generous in spirit, animated by a positive outlook and someone who obviously relishes life." — People
"Ann Patchett is, above all, marvelous company." — San Francisco Chronicle
"Patchett's voice, equal parts, warm, wry and insightful, reels you in. There's a freshness, an openness that never gets near over-sharing—and a humanity that never gets near sanctimony." — Wall Street Journal
"A beautiful reminder of what's important. . . . There's a generosity in the way she not only looks at the world but invites the reader in to stay for a while." — Washington Post
"An enviable life shared with candor, emotion, and knockout storytelling power." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Witty and warm, the essays succeed because of Patchett's inimitable, endearing voice. Simplistic, generous without being cloying, accessible rather than anodyne, These Precious Days feels at once bracing and comforting." — Boston Globe
"A moving and memorable account of a brief but incandescent friendship." — USA Today (four stars)
"A catalogue of all the unexpected ways love can look, if you're imaginative and brave enough to try it — even while knowing that love and grief are two sides of the same coin." — NPR.org
"The mission of memoir is to bring back, at least on the page, lost loved ones, times past and places left behind, and Patchett brings to this reclamation project the abundant literary gifts that light up her nine novels. To that artisanship is added the electricity that only true stories have, the hot current of personal revelation and intimacy." — Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Splendid. . . . These Precious Days overflows with life. . . . It's warm and funny and smart and full of unexpected insights." — Tampa Bay Times
"Essential reading. . . . These Precious Days is a book to treasure." — Toronto Star
"To immerse oneself in her book is to see the world as she does, in all its wonder and beauty. Read it, cherish it, buy a copy for your best friend, then read it once more." — Inews
"An illuminating, engaging collection. . . . These essays are at once a timely reminder that the days are precious—and a how-to guide for making them so." — Irish Times
"In this collection, readers will find humor, optimism, abundant joy and acceptance of loss, along with moments of laughter sprinkled with tears. Death is inevitable for all, so celebrate the precious moments with a sense of adventure, good books and great conversations with family and friends." — Booktrib
