These Precious Days

About this book

A BARACK OBAMA TOP BOOK OF 2021 A heartfelt and witty collection of essays on everything from marriage and knitting to the inevitability of death Guardian A pitch-perfect collection ... She can turn a sentence like no one else: her writing is clear honest witty and just full of unsentimental humanity Nigella Lawson Profound and clever and funny and wise Meg Mason author of Sorrow & Bliss An irresistible collection of essays and memoir from the internationally bestselling Womens Prize-winning author of The Dutch House 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. Ranging from the personal - her portrait of the three men she called her fathers; how a chance encounter with Tom Hanks led to one of the most important friendships of her life; how to answer when someone asks why you dont have children - to the sublime - the unexpected influence of Snoopy; the importance of knitting; the pleasure to be found in childrens books - each essay transforms the particular into the universal letting us all see our own worlds anew. Illuminating penetrating funny and generous These Precious Days is joyful time spent in the company of one of our greatest living authors. Patchetts essays are both sharp and humane ... like a hugely enjoyable conversation with a particularly brilliant friend Sadie Jones