Review: After Annie (by Anna Quindlen)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

This is a beautifully written story about a young wife and mother, Annie Brown, who collapses on the kitchen floor one night and never gets up again.  In the aftermath, her devastated family, swimming in grief, try to cope with the loss of the person who was the center of their universe — her husband Bill is shellshocked and buries himself in his work; her daughter Ali, only 13 years old, yet as the eldest, takes up the responsibility of caring for her 3 younger brothers as well as her father; Ant, at 11 years old, becomes angry and silent; the two youngest boys, Jamie and Benjy, don't understand what is happening and constantly ask when their mommy will be returning from the hospital, only for their questions to go unanswered; and then there's AnneMarie, the best friend since childhood who was dragged back from the brink of her own drug-fueled self-destruction by Annie, and now is in danger of spiraling out of control again after losing the one person who was her anchor and kept her on solid ground.  

The narrative is divided up based on seasons, starting with the winter day when Annie dies, then follows the family through the subsequent spring, summer, and autumn, at the same time alternating between the perspectives of Bill, Ali, and AnneMarie as they are forced to navigate a world without Annie in it.  The story is so sad and heartbreaking — I especially felt for Ali, who had to take up so much on her own while the adults in her life were adrift and didn't pay her much attention.  All the kids, in fact, I felt so much sympathy for that the entire time I was reading, I just wanted to reach out and hug them, comfort them.

The writing here is so moving and heartfelt — Quindlen captures the nuances of ordinary life so perfectly; at the same time, the way she has her characters navigate grief and loss felt so realistic that, at various points, I found I had tears streaming down my face.

I know Quindlen is a prolific author but this is actually the first time I've read any of her books.  It definitely won't be the last time however and with such a huge backlist, I'm glad that there will be plenty of her books to explore in the future.

Received ARC from Random House via NetGalley.

Review: Supercommunicators (by Charles Duhigg)

My Rating:  4 stars

As I've mentioned in previous reviews, books classified under the "self-help" category can be very much a hit or miss for me. This is partly because overall, it already takes me longer to read nonfiction books and with so many books on my TBR, the time pressure can be quite palpable.  More significantly though, when the book contains a "self-help" element, I feel even more pressure to actually "get" something out of the book in order for me to feel like it was worth my while to read.  This last part depends a lot on how the "self-help" element is presented, which could go in either the "yes, this resonates with me" or "no, most of this doesn't apply to me" direction (of course I always hope for the former).  

In this case, Charles Duhigg's newest book Supercommunicators definitely fell into the "resonant" category for me, even though I will admit that I was a tad hesitant about the subject matter at first. I actually decided to pick up this book not because of the subject (believe me, as an introvert with social anxiety who prefers to be alone rather than be around others, reading about how to better communicate is the last thing I want to do, lol), but rather because I had really enjoyed Duhigg's The Power of Habit (which was massively popular when it first came out in 2012) and so was hoping to find more of the same.  While I have to say that this book turned out to be quite different from the habit book in terms of scope and topic, there were some similarities that made it as enjoyable and interesting a read as that one.  First and foremost, I like that the book is written in a straightforward, easy to understand way, with practical, real world examples that felt both realistic and familiar.  I also like how he formatted the book (similarly to his habit book) where he would structure each chapter around a case study and present details that tied the study to the particular concept he was discussing.  Most of all though, I like the journalistic format where it felt at times that I was reading a series of well-written articles (the type of long-form story-like narratives often found in newsmagazines) — of course this is not surprising given that Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter / journalist (and yes, he writes for newsmagazines in addition to newspapers).

For me, one of the things that can be a "deal-breaker" when I read self-help books is the author's tone, which comes across in their style of writing.  Personally, I can't stand self-help books that make me feel like I'm being lectured or talked down to or that subtly imply that I'm missing out if I don't apply the concepts from the book right then and there. I'm the type of person who needs to let concepts and ideas sink in slowly and gradually before I can derive meaning from them, so I'm not keen on books that feel pushy or overly-preachy.  Duhigg writes in a way where his enthusiasm for the subject shines through, but there's also enough neutrality and restraint where it doesn't feel like he's trying to push me toward one direction or another (at least not overtly anyway, lol).  He also writes with a sense of humor, which I always appreciate, especially in nonfiction books.

Even though some of the concepts covered in this book I felt wouldn't necessarily apply to me, there was plenty that I resonated with…and to me surprise, one of the concepts that Duhigg advocated in the book was something I was already doing for years — I guess I was applying "super communicator" techniques without even knowing it!

This is a book that fans of Duhigg's works will undoubtedly enjoy.  Even if you're not a fan though, there's still plenty to enjoy.  If you've read The Power of Habit , the structure of the book will definitely be recognizable (and if you liked that one, most likely this one will appeal as well).  I just found out that Duhigg also wrote a book on productivity and few years after the habit one — I'm definitely interested in checking that book out at some point!

Received ARC from Random House via NetGalley.