A review by badmom
You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

While reading this book, I felt like I was involved in a series of conversations with a close friend. By arranging the ‘chapters’ (some are just a sentence or two) not in chronological order but more stream-of-consciousness or relating to a previous thought, Smith makes it feel like short talks over tea. She’ll start in the middle of an anecdote and fill in details as needed; we feel invited into her mind and heart yet she takes care to preserve the privacy of others, for the most part. Her focus stays mainly on how to process hurt and move forward, not on blame or bitterness. And Smith’s command of poetic language translates beautifully into memoir making it a wholly satisfying, cathartic experience.