“The Secret Life of Objects is my life story told through some of my possessions. Each chapter is a vignette about a simple object — a coffee mug, a vase, a pair of earrings, my mom's prayer book… Each object encapsulates a passage in my life in a way that, I think, resonates for a lot of people.
“One morning, I was drinking my coffee out of the mug that I take from the cupboard every day, even though I have dozens of other mugs. I always pick this mug because I took it from my mother's house after she died, and there's a whole story in the mug about my mom and my aunt, and I feel like I am having my coffee with them. And then I realized that my house is full of objects like this—things that don't mean anything to anyone else but that are filled with memories and insights and longings. So I started writing—very frankly—about my objects, and before I knew it I had enough to fill a book.
“Everyone who hears about this project or has read an excerpt in a literary magazine has wanted to tell me about their own objects. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that women want to share their stories. Talking about our objects give us a unique way to do this, and a way to leave a record for our children. Oh, and by the way, the illustrations are by my younger son, Sean Evers."
“One morning, I was drinking my coffee out of the mug that I take from the cupboard every day, even though I have dozens of other mugs. I always pick this mug because I took it from my mother's house after she died, and there's a whole story in the mug about my mom and my aunt, and I feel like I am having my coffee with them. And then I realized that my house is full of objects like this—things that don't mean anything to anyone else but that are filled with memories and insights and longings. So I started writing—very frankly—about my objects, and before I knew it I had enough to fill a book.
“Everyone who hears about this project or has read an excerpt in a literary magazine has wanted to tell me about their own objects. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that women want to share their stories. Talking about our objects give us a unique way to do this, and a way to leave a record for our children. Oh, and by the way, the illustrations are by my younger son, Sean Evers."
I am the complete opposite of he author and HATE unnecessary clutter or holding on to items that I don't think I will use again, so it was really interesting for me to see how much history is actually kept in the houses of people who 'hoard' (when compared to me anyway). Reading about it sort of made me feel guilty that I haven't kept hold of more family heritage - I went through the house and the only thing I could find from my grandparents was a couple of old books that my Nan gave me before she passed away.
This is the kind of book I would like to write when I am older before I pass away. What a great moment it would be for your children and grandchildren - and it would be interesting to see how much of the history they actually knew before you wrote it down.
Having said that I don't think I would ever read this book again, it was interesting and different but I like my story lines with a little more depth and character.
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