Hello, Readers,
Little Victories: Rules for Imperfect Living by Jason Gay (one of our November picks) is a sweet little book that reminds the reader that life is not perfect, but that does not mean it is not beautiful.
The chapters in Little Victories are organized by subject. Jason Gay wrote a few paragraphs on each topic and then offered bulleted pieces of advice. Nothing about his advice is pretentious or complicated; rather it’s sweet, honest, and often funny.
There were two pieces of advice that Gay offered that I found particularly poignant. The first is serious and about friendship:
“Think about friendship as a lifelong ambition. Everyone hates to be told to ‘make new friends’ – it conjures up haunted thoughts of your mother laughing to herself as she drops you off at a month-long archery camp. Friendship does not have to be a conscious act. It does not have to be explicitly stated. Life is not Facebook. But if you can maintain friendships deep into adulthood, this will enrich your life in ways you cannot imagine, and it will give you emotional ballast for all the relentless everything that is to come. We are now a terribly busy and technologically dependent species, and in the rush to stay connected and present, we too often disconnect from very human and necessary feelings of interaction. Friendship humanizes.” (p. 26-27)
The other piece of advice I loved is about marriage. It is a bit lighter, but no less serious (in my humble opinion):
“Know where you stand on brunch. You can endure through sickness and health. No marriage is strong enough to survive to people who disagree about brunch.” (p. 65)
There is something for everyone in Little Victories. It is so easy to get caught up in the “relentless everything” that seems to consume our lives, sometimes it is nice to be reminded about the beauty/necessity of friendship, the serious nature of brunch, and a million other little things that make life beautiful.
Go. Get a copy. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Did you get a chance to read it? What is your reaction? Leave a comment below with your thoughts and be sure to tag your copy of the book on instagram with #TWTBookshelf.
Live, Love, Learn,
Candice & The Write Teacher(s)