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 as she explores family, friendship, marriage, failure, success, and what it all means. Ann Patchett takes us to intimate places in her head and heart with this lovely collection of essays . I’ve read all of her novels and reading this book has made me want to read her other non fiction books. Reading this has also made me want to knit again, to read children’s books by Kate DeCamillo, to take a trip to Nashville not to go to the Grand Ole Opry, but to Parnassus her bookstore, to get rid of all the extra stuff in our house, to be more giving. She is happily surprised to find they’re good and promptly sends off her endorsement to the publisher, flattered that she was asked to ‘help’ someone like him. She has always travelled a lot, doing interviews and book shows, so she later crosses paths with Hanks and his assistant, Sooki, a tiny, fascinating woman she would like to get to know. This choice would introduce her to a remarkable woman named Sooki, Tom’s brilliant assistant, with whom she would form a profound and life-changing bond. Patchett processes her life experiences, big and small, through writing, with this collection of essays, itself born out of such a need. She artfully connects different moments in her life to arrive at insightful realizations and makes sense of life as she goes along. Writing provides Patchett with a way to make sense of the world around her and to capture and reflect on her own experiences, as well as those of others, in a way that is both personal and universal.

Sooki, it turns out, is being treated for pancreatic cancer, and Patchett thinks of her time as precious now. They begin corresponding about paint and colour and artists and art books. They have become friends. These Precious Days is the latest anthology of essays by one of my favorite authors, Ann Patchett. I think that what I love most about her essays is her humility and her love of books from the t Of course it helps if you have a personal connection to the topics she covers, and with 22 to choose from you likely will. For me, these were: no shopping/minimalism, having a husband who likes to fly teeny tiny (scary) planes, childlessness, book cover love, and (sigh) cancer. John Updike, Philip Roth, and Saul Bello, we’re definitely influencers.. but there were others - other books - other teachers - other people….

It was a good yarn for the grieving because even on the days I did nothing, I could point to my knitting and say to myself, Look at all I’ve done.” Some years all we’ve managed to do is exchange birthday cards, while other years we’ve talked on the phone every week.” Even though I don’t follow a lot of Bookstagram trends, yay me for getting in another book for #NonfictionNovember just under the wire! There’s a beautiful tribute to her father and two stepfathers. The stunning, heartfelt essay of the same title of the book is about the gift of true friendship, a wonderful woman named Sookie, and the generosity and love that Ann and her husband extended to her. At the center of These Precious Days is the title essay, a suprising 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.

Ron Rash is renowned for his writing about Appalachia, but his latest book, The Caretaker, begins ... If you read “The Paris Tattoo,” you will find out that Ann Patchett and her friend Marti had a transformative experience when they witness tattoo-covered young men in Londonderry, Ireland, during a war. Patchett's gift is to write from intensely personal territory but to make her insights - about the importance of being generous in our relationships, or the fine balance between optimism and grief - seem universally relevant. As you read these meditative but warm-hearted essays, you begin to understand what matters most - not just to Patchett, but to you On our fourth date, I looked at him across the table in the restaurant…But what did life ever come to without a few risks? I asked him if he wanted to go to Vienna. Yes. He said yes, and then he said it again without giving it a second thought.” 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.I am so grateful to Ann Patchett for this spectacular book. Or should I say my friend Ann? Because listening to these essays feels like having a conversation with a valued friend. Over the last several days we have walked, cooked and gone on a few drives together. She has shared her joys, fears and revelations - and has made me laugh and laugh. And cry. Her voice in my ear felt both soothing and heart-piercing. And although she did all the talking, it didn't feel one-sided. She left space for me to see own life more vividly. But the flames are not just those of a global pandemic. Lara’s eldest daughter Emily, who plans to make her life on the farm, decides she is not going to have children because of the climate emergency. It is here that even Patchett’s optimism falters. “I can’t imagine going through this with young children. You’re not worrying just for yourself and your own life and a love for trees and birds and all that. You’re worrying about it for the people you love the most.” The essays range in subject, but often consider relationships in Patchett’s personal and professional life, including with her father and stepfathers; her decision not to have children; the close friendship she develops in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic with Tom Hanks' assistant Sooki Raphael. Patchett’s life as a writer, from her earliest grade school writing, through college and graduate school, magazine writing, novels and ultimately selling books at her Nashville independent bookstore Parnassus, is woven throughout. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial.