What Comes Next and How to Like It: A Memoir - Softcover

Thomas, Abigail

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1476785066 ISBN 13: 9781476785066

Publisher: Scribner, 2016

Synopsis

The "New York Times "bestseller from the beloved author of "A Three Dog Life"--an exhilarating, superbly written memoir on friendship, family, creativity, tragedy, and the richness of life: "If you only read one book this year, make it this one" (Ann Patchett). In her bestselling memoir "A Three Dog Life," Abigail Thomas wrote about the devastating loss of her husband. In "What Comes Next and How to Like It," "a keenly observed memoir...Thomas writes of the changes aging brings us all and of coping through love: of family, dogs, a well-turned phrase. She is superb company" ("People"). Thomas was startled to overhear herself described as "a nice old lady with a tattoo," because she thinks of herself as not nice, not old, nor a lady. But she has wondered: what comes next? What comes after the death of a spouse? What form does a lifelong friendship take after deepest betrayal? How does a mother cope with her child's dire illness? Or the death of a cherished dog? And how to like it? How to accept, appreciate, enjoy? How to find solace and pleasure? How to sustain and be sustained by our most trusted, valuable companions? At its heart, "What Comes Next and How to Like It "is about the complicated friendship between Thomas and a man she met thirty-five years ago--a rich bond that has lasted through marriages, child-raising, and the vicissitudes and tragedies of life. "After all," she writes, "there are those people we love, and then there are those we recognize. These are the unbreakable connections." Exquisitely observed, lush with sentences you will read over and over again, "What Comes Next and How to Like It" "is a beautifully felt, deeply moving memoir, the best work yet by a woman who has already done some of the best work in the field. Abigail Thomas is the Emily Dickinson of memoirists, and so much of this book's wisdom is between the lines and in the white spaces. It may only take you two days to read, but the impact will stay with you for a long, long time" (Stephen King). This is a glorious guide to living imperfectly and exuberantly.

About this title

Review:

"What Comes Next and How to Like It is a beautifully felt, deeply moving memoir, the best work yet by a woman who has already done some of the best work in the field. It's about friendship, and the shocks friendship can endure when it's true and deep. It's about the rueful pleasures (not to mention the jarring pitfalls) of getting old. It's about enduring tragedy, sickness, and loss. Thomas speaks of these big things by scattering the ordinary jewelry of everyday life: loving dogs (even when they chew your most precious possessions), Googling old boyfriends, rescuing an orphan mouse, and trees that try to grow in the crack between boards. Small speaks for large here, in a calm voice that talks to the mind while it fills the heart. Abigail Thomas is the Emily Dickinson of memoirists, and so much of this book's wisdom is between the lines and in the white spaces. It may only take you two days to read, but the impact will stay with you for a long, long time. Abigail Thomas fills memory with living breath."--Stephen King

"This may be the most honest book I've ever read, by one of the most beautiful writers I know-- dizzyingly truthful, often funny, lyrical, wise."--Anne Lamott

"I would follow Abigail Thomas on any journey she ever takes. The arrival of a new book from this master is always a cause for celebration, because I know right away that I'm about to learn something important about the art of writing and the art of living, both. I come to her books as though to a feast, and leave fulfilled and transformed."--Elizabeth Gilbert

"This episodic memoir is full of love and life. Readers will identify with the feelings and the people even as they realize how different they are, how wondrous."--Eloise Kinney "Booklist "

"Bighearted...frank and funny andunpretentious...[Thomas's] gratitude and amazement abound."--Catherine Newman "More "

"Irreverent, wise, and boundlessly generous."--Elissa Schappell "Vanity Fair "

"Full of love, humor, anger and a certain amount of uncertainty.... Although most of these passages are very short and read almost like journal entries, the overall picture Thomas conveys is that of the deep, soul-level relationships that exist between her and her family and with Chuck, connections that make all the highs and lows of life livable."--Lee E. Cart "Shelf Awareness "

"Beautifully written...wry...resilient. Her mature bones may not be all that flexible but her topics and sentences flip and cartwheel with the greatest of ease."--Maureen Corrigan "Fresh Air "

"Abigail Thomas knows adversity and how to make some kind of joy out of it... a meditation on aging and family that brings to mind Anne Lamott or Anna Quindlen... her gift is to never ponder too long on life's woes."--Nora Krug "The Washington Post "

"[Thomas] is in total control of the narrative even when she feels that she's not--a string of tragedies pieced together with undeterred grace....each scene feels fresh and alive."--Alex Layman "Kirkus Reviews "

About the Author:

Abigail Thomas, the daughter of renowned science writer Lewis Thomas (The Lives of a Cell), is the mother of four children and the grandmother of twelve. She is the author of six previous books, including the memoir A Three Dog Life, which was named one of the best books of 2006 by the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. She teaches writing and lives in Woodstock.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1476785066
• ISBN 13: 9781476785066
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256