What Now?

As the dust jacket synopsis of author Ann Patchett's slim novel "What Now?" says, this book "offers hope and inspiration for anyone at a crossroads, whether graduating, changing careers, or transitioning from one stage of life to another." The book is only 97 pages long, with pictures taking up several pages; it reads more like an essay.

Maybe that's because the book is actually the expanded text of a commencement speech Patchett gave at her alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College. Don't let that keep you from reading this book though. With the wit and candor of the novelist she is, Patchett offers a refreshing look at all those times you ask yourself, or someone else asks you, "What now?" She tells "her story" from cook to teacher, to waitress and eventually to award-winning author, and what a charming story it is.

Here are just a couple of examples of the wisdom she offers.

Speaking of whether to listen to others or not; especially those whom we don't think have anything to offer us, the author encourages us to listen deeply and to listen more. She writes:

For the most part wisdom comes in chips rather than blocks. You have to be willing to gather them constantly, and from sources you never imagined to be probable. No chip gives you the answer for everything. No chip stays in the same place throughout your entire life. The secret is to keep adding voices, adding ideas, and moving things around as you put together your life. If you're lucky, putting together your life is a process that will last through every single day you are alive. (Pg 38-39)

Later, writing again about how life works, she offers this:

The secret is finding the balance between going out to get what you want and being open to the thing that actually winds up coming your way. (pg 76-77)

One more great quote, this time about the eponymous question, "What now," she writes:

"What now?" is not just a panic-stricken question tossed out into a dark unknown. What now can also be our joy. It is a declaration of possibility, of promise, of chance. It acknowledges that our future is open, that we may well do more than anyone expected of us, that at every point in our development we are still striving to grow. There's a time in our lives when we all crave the answers. it seems terrifying not to know what's coming next. But there is another time, a better time, when we see our lives as a series of choices, and "What now?" represents our excitement and our future, the very vitality of life. It's up to you to choose a life that will keep expanding. It takes discipline to remain curious; it takes work to be open to the world - but oh my friends, what noble and glorious work it is. (pg. 77-78)

As you can tell, I got a lot out of this book. I think you will too.