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A review by shansometimes
You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Who knew a memoir primarily about the author's divorce could be...painstakingly beautiful? YOU COULD MAKE THIS PLACE BEAUTIFUL was written by a poet and it shows. In vignettes that made this an easier read despite the subject matter, Maggie Smith reflects on the breakdown of her marriage, the evolution of her career, the joys of motherhood (finally, someone shared positives about parenting), and the process of rebuilding her life.
I'm neither divorced nor a parent, but I'm a woman and a writer. Those two commonalities with the author are partially what made me so enthralled with this book. I was impressed by the way Smith looked inward and examined even the most minute reasons the end of her marriage was filled with so much disillusion and pain. Then she wrote about it in lovely, sharp prose.
There's important commentary about the division of labor in relationships and the expectations placed on women that I believe anyone—especially women—might find eye-opening. I don't want this book to get put into a "divorce memoir" box—it's more than that, at least to me. Beyond being a shining example of superb writing, YOU COULD MAKE THIS PLACE BEAUTIFUL is the story of a woman stepping into her power and grasping how joyful life can be, even after loss. You, of course, don't have to get divorced to do that, but Maggie Smith took an unwanted breakup and turned that grief into sweet lemonade, a new perspective. And I think that's beautiful.
I'm neither divorced nor a parent, but I'm a woman and a writer. Those two commonalities with the author are partially what made me so enthralled with this book. I was impressed by the way Smith looked inward and examined even the most minute reasons the end of her marriage was filled with so much disillusion and pain. Then she wrote about it in lovely, sharp prose.
There's important commentary about the division of labor in relationships and the expectations placed on women that I believe anyone—especially women—might find eye-opening. I don't want this book to get put into a "divorce memoir" box—it's more than that, at least to me. Beyond being a shining example of superb writing, YOU COULD MAKE THIS PLACE BEAUTIFUL is the story of a woman stepping into her power and grasping how joyful life can be, even after loss. You, of course, don't have to get divorced to do that, but Maggie Smith took an unwanted breakup and turned that grief into sweet lemonade, a new perspective. And I think that's beautiful.