What Now by Ann Patchett

This is a very short easy read (100 pages with lots of pictures) from Ann Patchett's commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College.  This stirring essay offers hope and inspiration for anyone at a crossroads, whether graduating, changing careers, or transitioning from one life stage to another. With wit and candor, Patchett tells her own story of attending college, graduating, and struggling with the inevitable question, What now?

I especially enjoyed this after recently reading her book "Truth & Beauty" which also covered a lot of the time period she referenced - her time at Sarah Lawrence, moving back home with her mother, working as a dishwasher and struggling to find her way as a writer.

Patchett has a way of writing that strikes a chord in all of us.  She shares moments and emotions that we all go through.

Writing a novel and living a life are very much the same thing.  The secret is finding the balance between going out to get what you want and being open to the thing that actually winds up coming your way.

Rating: 3.2 Good