I have a therapist colleague heading off on maternity leave, and as we were saying our goodbyes, she told me she’s planning to read my book, Five Things I Can’t Live Without, alongside A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books. I thanked her (it was great to be in such distinguished company), and we started talking about how at various times in your life, there are certain books you just crave. Right now, she’s craving Winnie the Pooh for what she sees as a cast of the charmingly, barely-concealed mentally ill and the ultimate hopefulness of it all. For my part, after a breakup, I crave Shel Silverstein’s books The Missing Piece and The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. They’re picture books but as much for adults as they are for kids. They have my favorite tone (alternately funny and sad and permeated by poignancy throughout) and a great underlying philosophy about relationships (Shel was probably turning in his grave at all that Jerry Maguire “you complete me” stuff). Shel’s vision of maternal love isn’t necessarily my cup of tea (as represented in The Giving Tree—a mother should give and give and give until she’s just a stump?) I don’t think I’d read that one while I was expecting.
But it’ll be interesting to see what winds up on my nightstand when I’ve reached that stage in my life, if it’s something I’ve already read but maybe never understood fully until that moment, whether it’s something that takes me back or propels me forward. I was touched to think my book will be part of my colleague’s journey in some small way. One of the nicest aspects of being a published author for the past year and a half has been the e-mails I get from readers telling me how my book fit into their life for a time, how Nora’s journey influenced theirs. My second novel is just around the corner, and I can only hope that Eve and Jonathon’s story has some resonance for people, not necessarily the emotional affair but the everyday struggles and the push-and-pull of intimacy in any long-term relationship. And I hope I get to hear all about it.