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marypmcg's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Drug use
atamano's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic, Drug use, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol
mheneghan's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief, Death, and Death of parent
corncake's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Drug use
Minor: Vomit, Sexism, Medical content, and Misogyny
ekmook's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Death of parent, Death, Grief, and Sexism
summerb's review against another edition
3.75
Moderate: Death, Cancer, Drug use, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent
prettiestwhistles's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Cancer and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Death, and Drug use
Minor: Car accident, Cursing, and Alcohol
jennikreads's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Cancer, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Chronic illness
emzireads's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Grief and Cancer
deedireads's review against another edition
4.25
TL;DR REVIEW:
These Precious Days is another beautifully heartfelt essay collection from Ann Patchett. It was a delight to read, especially the title essay.
For you if: You like memoiristic essays and/or essays about the writer life.
FULL REVIEW:
First, thank you to Harper Books for sending me an advanced review copy of this book! I really, really enjoyed it.
These Precious Days is a new collection of essays from Ann Patchett, and it’s just as beautiful, readable, and heartfelt as you’d expect. I always love reading Ann Patchett’s essays in the New Yorker and such, and this was no different. I read one essay each morning until I finished it, and it made for a great start to each day. I was sad when it ended.
Patchett writes about all kinds of things, from her late father(s), to her professional journey with book covers, to learning how to accept the mortality of her loved ones, to being childless by choice, to how she found her way to opening a bookstore. The title essay is the longest and echoes the loudest; it’s about her deep friendship with Tom Hanks’ assistant, Sooki, who lived with Patchett and her husband during the pandemic while undergoing cancer treatment.
There is a level of humanity and approachability in Patchett’s nonfiction that’s hard to pinpoint, but always present. She has a skill for making it clear how much she loves the people she’s writing about, even as she notes shortcomings and the reality of their impact of her life. It’s tender, and it makes you feel cared for as a reader, too.
If you like memoiristic essays, especially those about the writer’s life, pick this one up.
Graphic: Terminal illness and Grief