Stuck at home on their cherry farm in Michigan during the beginning of the pandemic, Lara recounts her tales from her twenties as an actress to her three daughters. She tells them of her brief but impactful relationship with Peter Duke, a famous actor she acted in a play alongside in Tom Lake many summers ago. The stories spark Lara’s daughters to examine their relationship with their mother and their own lives.

I LOVE Ann Patchett so this book was on my radar leading up to its release, and when I saw that Meryl Streep performed that audiobook I knew I had to listen! My last Patchett book was The Dutch House, read by Tom Hanks, and I loved that one but I think I love this one more. Patchett has such a way of writing with nostalgia that isn’t quite melancholy or wanting to relive the past and I love that so much. She is so talented at depicting the full spectrum of human emotion. I loved that the story oscillated between the past and present. This was a beautiful story about family, relationships, coming of age, and how the things we want when we’re young seem so different from what we cherish as adults. Already can’t wait for Patchett’s next work!