You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir

By:

Synopsis
In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith explores the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself in lyrical vignettes that shine, hard and clear as jewels.

The book begins with one woman’s personal, particular heartbreak, but its circles widen into a reckoning with contemporary womanhood, traditional gender roles, and the power dynamics that persist even in many progressive homes. With the spirit of self-inquiry and empathy she’s known for, Smith interweaves snapshots of a life with meditations on secrets, anger, forgiveness, and narrative itself. The power of these pieces is cumulative: page after page, they build into a larger interrogation of family, work, and patriarchy.

You Could Make This Place Beautiful, like the work of Deborah Levy, Rachel Cusk, and Gina Frangello, is an unflinching look at what it means to live and write our own lives. It is a story about a mother’s fierce and constant love for her children, and a woman’s love and regard for herself. Above all, this memoir is an argument for possibility. With a poet’s attention to language and an innovative approach to the genre, Smith reveals how, in the aftermath of loss, we can discover our power and make something new. Something beautiful.

New York Times Bestseller

Copyright:
1999

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
320 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781982185879
Related ISBNs:
9781982185855
Publisher:
Atria/One Signal Publishers
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
Louise Bourgeois.
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Nonfiction, Self-Help, Biographies and Memoirs, Parenting and Family
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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