Smith’s own brilliant mother left work and schooling behind to become a traditional Southern woman and mother—and then seemed to expect to live vicariously through her daughter. Smith’s father, an orthopedic surgeon, provided a life of privilege—“The word my family uses is ‘blessed,’” Smith notes. She contemplates this with a sense of awareness and responsibility as she reflects on a life spent “always moving toward something”: pursuing a career in teaching instead of medicine; missionary work in Nigeria; tough but rewarding time teaching in Boston’s Southie neighborhood. But Smith still sought the source of her angst, even after marriage and becoming a mother to four children. After a breast cancer diagnosis at age 43, Smith turns to writing to answer core questions about who she is.

Readers who, like Smith, found guidance and wisdom in the works of Glennon Doyle and Elizabeth Gilbert will enjoy this journey and its inviting life lessons as Smith learns which dreams to keep, which to let go, and how to learn from the past and accept people for who they are.

Takeaway: Searching memoir of finding one’s own path and living for something more.

Comparable Titles: Glennon Doyle’s Untamed, Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A-