Michele Harrod's Reviews > Survival Lessons

Alice could write a note and leave it on my bench telling me she was popping out for coffee - and I know it would be delightful. This is 83 pages of grace, as Alice reflects on the things she learned while going through cancer treatment. It's like a tiny pocket guide to remind you of the things in life that are worth living for. And how living can be done so beautifully... with a glitter pen and a note book. A great brownie recipe or a faithful puppy. The simplicity alone made this little gem extraordinary to me.

I just know that if I were to write a book, advising my friends of ways to survive the toughest of days, I would tell them to read Alice Hoffman. Her books, her letters, blogs, or the notes she might leave on a bench....whatever you were lucky enough to get your hands on. Because each one holds something pure and magical that simply fills your heart with inexplicable joy.

I am so immensely grateful every time I hold a Hoffman in my hand - and I cannot thank her enough for surviving. For continuing to provide me the experience of pleasure I feel - as my breath is taken away by a single sentence. Or my heart filled to bursting with a gentle image only Alice Hoffman can paint - as my eyes skim the words that she seems to write directly to my heart.

Simple as that.