The story is available online at Harper’s with three of Sooki’s paintings to enjoy. I will share them below, but I hope she includes some more of them in her book. They are a formidable pair of friends and wonderful artists. The best one, and that's really saying a lot because they could all be considered "the best one," is the title story, "These Precious Days," in which Ann recounts her unlikely friendship with Tom Hanks's personal assistant, Sooki. Have a box of tissues handy when you read this one. Patchett, in the book, states that grew up in a blended family and she places great importance on the value of relationships and community. Her strong and long-lasting friendships, as well as her stable and content marriage to Karl VanDevender, influences her sense of contentment and gratitude for what life offers. Patchett processes her life experiences, big and small, through writing, with this collection of essays, itself born out of such a need. She artfully connects different moments in her life to arrive at insightful realizations and makes sense of life as she goes along. Writing provides Patchett with a way to make sense of the world around her and to capture and reflect on her own experiences, as well as those of others, in a way that is both personal and universal.

I've had some very good covers in my life, but this was a great one, and while I've worked with many other people to get things right, I've never had a true collaborator. Noah's painting is actually part of the book, and it makes the book look better. At a certain point the reader comes across the mention of the painting and realizes that the painting she's reading about is the painting on the cover." Do you think it was these relationships she had with her loved ones, (both biological and chosen) that provided a supportive network eventually underpinning her positive outlook on life? This is now February 2020, a time leading into the Global Pandemic, but we didn’t really know that then. What Ann knows is that her new friend needs more medical help. Sooki is flying to Memorial Sloan Kettering in NY (she lives in LA), looking for a clinical trial or something.

I read the title essay, “These Precious Days”, about Ann’s friendship with Sooki Raphael, assistant to Tom Hanks, earlier in 2021 when it was first published. I loved it and was excited to learn the essay would be part of a collection later in the year. I'm re-listening to these essays. (3rd time) -- I made a date with Erin -- last year -- to listen to this book during Thanksgiving -- and boy -- I had no idea just HOW MUCH re-visiting this book would be supportive -- Ann Patchett takes us to intimate places in her head and heart with this lovely collection of essays . I’ve read all of her novels and reading this book has made me want to read her other non fiction books. Reading this has also made me want to knit again, to read children’s books by Kate DeCamillo, to take a trip to Nashville not to go to the Grand Ole Opry, but to Parnassus her bookstore, to get rid of all the extra stuff in our house, to be more giving. the power of not shopping for a year, gift giving, joy, sadness, crying, laughing, grief, suffering, feeling bad, feeling good, people who have influenced and shaped Ann’s life. These Precious Days is the latest anthology of essays by one of my favorite authors, Ann Patchett. I think that what I love most about her essays is her humility and her love of books from the time she was a small child. This was one of the passages that spoke to that:

As with any collection, there were some essays I liked better than others, and I recommend reading (or listening) to one or two a day, not straight through. The one I found most interesting as a reader was “Cover Art”, on how covers are chosen and how much input is allowed an author. In my own journey to minimize and simplify I appreciated her essay, “My Year of No Shopping”. The most heartfelt and moving essay was about Sooki, Tom Hank’s assistant. They became friends and grew even closer during Sooki’s long battle with pancreatic cancer. It is her art on the cover of the book and their relationship was touching and moving. You can read it online here: https://harpers.org/archive/2021/01/t... An irresistible collection of essays and memoir from the internationally bestselling, Women's Prize-winning author of The Dutch House You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. Her writing is a literary alchemy that transforms the private into the universal, inviting us to see our own worlds with a new pair of fresh eyes. But the flames are not just those of a global pandemic. Lara’s eldest daughter Emily, who plans to make her life on the farm, decides she is not going to have children because of the climate emergency. It is here that even Patchett’s optimism falters. “I can’t imagine going through this with young children. You’re not worrying just for yourself and your own life and a love for trees and birds and all that. You’re worrying about it for the people you love the most.”

These essays dealt with topics such as marriage, family, writing, friendship, people she admires, her love for knitting and Snoopy, and more. Each one is insightful and what I love so much about her writing is that she never belabors a point or uses 50 words when 10 will do. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. If you're an Ann Patchett fan, this is a must-read. If you've never heard of Ann Patchett, you still need to read this, but first treat yourself to one or two of her novels. I highly recommend "The Dutch House" and "Bel Canto."

Do you think that by recounting these experiences, Patchett provided a moving reflection on the value of friendship and the importance of living in the moment?Three Fathers": Ann Patchett had three fathers because her mother had three marriages, two of which ended in divorce. At her sister's wedding, Ann realized all three of the men, who were never together for obvious reasons, would be in the same place at the same time. So she had her photo taken with them. One of the dads astutely observed to the other two, "You know what she's going to do, don't you? She's going to wait until the three of us are dead and then she's going to write about us. This is the picture that will run with the piece." He was right. Whether it is witnessing her friend Sooki’s battle with cancer or seeing her father’s health deteriorate, Patchett emerges from these experiences with a sense of appreciation for what was written in destiny. She emphasizes staying present and finding tenderness in the past rather than becoming entangled in grief or bitterness. This attitude is influenced by her admiration for individuals like Strobel, who meet the world with love and openness despite their challenging circumstances. I am counting down to the release of These Precious Days. I adore everything she writes but especially her essays, which are always profound and clever, and funny and wise Any story that starts will also end.' As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this as she explores family, friendship, marriage, failure, success, and what it all means. Towards the end of her new essay collection, Ann Patchett describes being inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, where a portrait of her now hangs alongside the likes of Henry James, John Dos Passos and Eudora Welty. “The picture I’d chosen to send was joyful,” she writes. “I’m showing all my teeth and am completely out of step with every serious and circumspect photograph surrounding me.”

Any story that starts will also end." As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. Ranging from the personal – her portrait of the three men she called her fathers; how a chance encounter with Tom Hanks led to one of the most important friendships of her life; how to answer when someone asks why you don't have children – to the sublime – the unexpected influence of Snoopy; the importance of knitting; the pleasure to be found in children's books – each essay transforms the particular into the universal, letting us all see our own worlds anew.

This choice would introduce her to a remarkable woman named Sooki, Tom’s brilliant assistant, with whom she would form a profound and life-changing bond. At 57, the novelist Ann Patchett is already preparing for death. She isn’t terminally ill, and her decision isn’t as morbid as it sounds at first. She intends from now on to travel light, to empty her house in Nashville of the residues of adulthood: the boxes of clothes and dishes and jewellery that she has accumulated over five decades of living, things that she now believes prevented her from “thinking about what was coming and the beauty that was here now”. This afternoon she is expecting American novelist Helen Ellis, whom she will take out for an early dinner at 4.30pm, ahead of interviewing her at the bookshop this evening. Ellis will stay the night, “because everybody sleeps at my house,” she says. “It means you always have a clean house.” Some years all we’ve managed to do is exchange birthday cards, while other years we’ve talked on the phone every week.” In the essay “Flight Plan,” Patchett discusses her husband’s passion for flying and how it has influenced her own perspectives on life and growth. Through Karl’s experiences, with planes, Patchett explored themes of risk-taking, adventure, and the fleeting nature of life.