This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This author was recommended to me by a friend. I wasn’t sure which book I wanted to read first, but I thought that this compilation of essays that were published in various magazines and publications would be a decent place to start. Overall, it was okay. I will probably try to pick up one of her fictions later on in the year.

The essays were not in published chronological order, but they seemed to move through her life from when she was a child wanting to be a writer all the way into her present marriage. The writing touched on various highlights, such as the controversy of one of her books to her first marriage, subsequent divorce, and journey into her second marriage.

My favorite essay was the one called On Responsibility which introduced her relationship with her grandmother who had dementia and her relationship with her dog. I can personally relate to both of these experiences.

My least favorite was The Getaway Car, which was her journey to becoming a writer, filled with a lot of advice to those who may look into that career path. I didn’t really have any connection with her other writings which probably made that particular post slightly boring.

She is funny and honest and, at times, blunt with her writing, but I wouldn’t recommend this as a first read for this author. Hopefully, in reading her other work, I will have a better understanding and connection to the material I read in this book.