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Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

In this irresistible memoir, the New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize Anna Quindlen writes about looking back and ahead—and celebrating it all—as she considers marriage, girlfriends, our mothers, faith, loss, all the stuff in our closets, and more.
 
As she did in her beloved New York Times columns, and in A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Quindlen says for us here what we may wish we could have said ourselves. Using her past, present, and future to explore what matters most to women at different ages, Quindlen talks about
 
Marriage: “A safety net of small white lies can be the bedrock of a successful marriage. You wouldn’t believe how cheaply I can do a kitchen renovation.”
 
Girlfriends: “Ask any woman how she makes it through the day, and she may mention her calendar, her to-do lists, her babysitter. But if you push her on how she really makes it through her day, she will mention her girlfriends. Sometimes I will see a photo of an actress in an unflattering dress or a blouse too young for her or with a heavy-handed makeup job, and I mutter, ‘She must not have any girlfriends.’ ”
 
Stuff: “Here’s what it comes down to, really: there is now so much stuff in my head, so many years, so many memories, that it’s taken the place of primacy away from the things in the bedrooms, on the porch. My doctor says that, contrary to conventional wisdom, she doesn’t believe our memories flag because of a drop in estrogen but because of how crowded it is in the drawers of our minds. Between the stuff at work and the stuff at home, the appointments and the news and the gossip and the rest, the past and the present and the plans for the future, the filing cabinets in our heads are not only full, they’re overflowing.”
 
Our bodies: “I’ve finally recognized my body for what it is: a personality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character from place to place, now and in the years to come. It’s like a car, and while I like a red convertible or even a Bentley as well as the next person, what I really need are four tires and an engine.”
 
Parenting: “Being a parent is not transactional. We do not get what we give. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward endeavor: We are good parents not so they will be loving enough to stay with us but so they will be strong enough to leave us.”
 
From childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age, Quindlen uses the events of her own life to illuminate our own. Along with the downsides of age, she says, can come wisdom, a perspective on life that makes it satisfying and even joyful. Candid, funny, moving, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake is filled with the sharp insights and revealing observations that have long confirmed Quindlen’s status as America’s laureate of real life.

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      In just over a dozen essays, author-narrator Anna Quindlen looks at life from the far end of her 50s, reflecting on friendships, parenthood, marriage, materialism, mortality, and aging. Quindlen returns to her journalistic roots, using her well-loved personal style, which resonates broadly, especially with women of her generation. Taking a slightly conversational narrative approach, Quindlen creates an inviting atmosphere, making listeners feel as if they're sitting across the table from her, sipping coffee and swapping stories. Whether discussing the Baby Boomers' collective experience or her own best friend, Quindlen's exuberance is mirrored in her heartfelt reading. Her genuine emotions, although understated, shine throughout the performance, and listeners will quickly be nodding in agreement, wishing to share their own memories and opinions. C.B.L. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      April 2, 2012
      Weary, battle-hardened reflections on growing older infuse this latest collection of essays by novelist and former New York Times columnist Quindlen (Every Last One). Having chimed in copiously in previous memoirs on now familiar talking points such as raising children, finding life’s balance as a working mother, achieving marital harmony and doling out feminist lessons to three grown children, Quindlen has found one nut to polish in a gratifying sense of survival on her own terms. Now in her late 50s, having lived much longer than her mother, who died when Quindlen was 19, the author finds herself shocked to hear herself referred to as elderly, and no longer troubled by the realization that her sense of control over events is illusory. In essays such as “Generations” and “Expectations,” she is careful to pay homage to the women like her mother who grew up before the women’s movement and thus had fewer choices. Yet Quindlen sees much work still to be done, especially in breaking glass ceilings and in assumptions about women’s looks—including her own. Cocooned in her comfortable lifestyle between a New York City apartment and her country house, surrounded by accumulated “stuff” that is beginning to feel stifling, certain of her marriage-until-death and support of her BFFs, Quindlen holds for the most part a blithe, benign view of growing older. Yet in moments when she dares to peer deeper, such as at her Catholic faith or within the chasm of solitude left by children having left home, she bats away her platitudinous reassurances and approaches a near-searing honesty.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 28, 2012
      A bestselling author and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Anna Quindlen shares her thoughts on aging, family, marriage, and other slice-of-life topics in this reflective memoir. Although there’s nothing startling or groundbreaking here, her wit and thoughtful insights on these universal issues will have listeners recognizing themselves and nodding their heads in agreement. As a narrator, Quindlen’s performance is familiar and intimate: her voice brims over with warmth, wisdom, and self-deprecating humor, and she sound much like a friend who has stopped by for a visit and a cup of coffee. Fans of Quindlen and listeners in general will be more than glad to invite her in (via audiobook) to sit for a spell. A Random House hardcover.

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