What Now? - by Ann Patchett (Hardcover)

About the Book

While grads may have little idea of what's coming next, there's great pleasure to be found in not knowing and not having everything defined. Bestselling author Patchett shares her wit and heartfelt advice in this beautiful gift book that is sure to become a perennial favorite.

Book Synopsis

"A wise, generous and compact primer for life that could well become a touchstone, readers will return to this book, and probably find something new each time they do; deserves to be given often and enthusiastically." -- Publishers Weekly

Based on her lauded commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College, this stirring essay by bestselling author Ann Patchett offers hope and inspiration for anyone at a crossroads, whether graduating, changing careers, or transitioning from one life stage to another.

With wit and candor, Patchett tells her own story of attending college, graduating, and struggling with the inevitable question, What now? From student to line cook to teacher to waitress and eventually to award-winning author, Patchett's own life has taken many twists and turns that make her exploration genuine and resonant. As Patchett writes, "'What now?' represents our excitement and our future, the very vitality of life." She highlights the possibilities the unknown offers and reminds us that there is as much joy in the journey as there is in reaching the destination.

From the Back Cover

Based on her lauded commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College, this stirring essay by bestselling author Ann Patchett offers hope and inspiration for anyone at a crossroads, whether graduating, changing careers, or transitioning from one life stage to another. With wit and candor, Patchett tells her own story of attending college, graduating, and struggling with the inevitable question, What now?

From student to line cook to teacher to waitress and eventually to award-winning author, Patchett's own life has taken many twists and turns that make her exploration genuine and resonant. As Patchett writes, "'What now?' represents our excitement and our future, the very vitality of life." She highlights the possibilities the unknown offers and reminds us that there is as much joy in the journey as there is in reaching the destination.

Review Quotes

"Ann Patchett is unique: a generous, fearless, and startlingly wise writer." -- New York Times Book Review

"Patchett is a wonderful writer." -- New York Newsday

"[T]he best graduation present on the market...Personal but direct, with a warm, searching voice, Patchett looks at her own struggle with the perennial question "what now?" and finds some surprising moments of revelation.... Wise, illuminating observations abound, putting Patchett's talent for cogent, colorful metaphor to brilliant use... A wise, generous and compact primer for life that could well become a touchstone, readers will return to this book, and probably find something new each time they do; deserves to be given often and enthusiastically." -- Publishers Weekly

"[T]he best graduation present on the market... A wise, generous and compact primer for life that could well become a touchstone, readers will return to this book, and probably find something new each time they do; deserves to be given often and enthusiastically." -- Publishers Weekly

"[WHAT NOW?] is full of good-humored anecdotes that will resonate with anyone confronting the question in the title. It's a bit of a departure for this best-selling novelist, to be sure, but a genial, warmhearted one." -- Nashville Tennessean

"Patchett delivers lots of personable wit and clear-eyed, non-cliched reassurance to anyone making a fresh start." -- Good Housekeeping