Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake

It's odd when I thinkof the arc of my life, from child to young woman to aging adult. First I waswho I was. Then I didn't know who I was. Then I invented someone, and becameher. Then I began to like what I'd invented. And finally I was what I was again.

It turned out I wasn't alone in that particular progression.

From Anna Quindlen, #1 New York Times bestselling author and winner ofthe Pulitzer Prize, comes this irresistible memoir about her life and the livesof women today. Candid, funny, moving, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cakeis filled with the sharp insights and revealing observations that have longconfirmed Quindlen's status as America's laureate of real life.

As she did in her beloved New York Times columns, and in A Short Guideto a Happy Life, Quindlen says for us here what we may wish we could havesaid ourselves. Using her past, present, and future to explore what mattersmost to women at different ages, Quindlen talks about

Marriage: "A safety net of small white lies can be the bedrock of asuccessful marriage. You wouldn't believe how cheaply I can do a kitchenrenovation."

Girlfriends: "Real friends offer both hard truths and soft landings andrealize that it's sometimes more important to be nice than to be honest."

Our bodies: "I've finally recognized my body for what it is, apersonality-delivery system, designed expressly to carry my character fromplace to place, now and in the years to come. It's like a car, and while I likea red convertible or even a Bentley as well as the next person, what I reallyneed are four tires and an engine."

Parenting: "Being a parent is not transactional. We do not get what wegive. It is the ultimate pay-it-forward: We are good parents, not so they willbe loving enough to stay with us, but so they will be strong enough to leaveus."

From childhood memories to manic motherhood to middle age, Quindlen uses theevents of her own life to illuminate our own. Along with the downsides of age,she says, can come wisdom, a perspective on life that makes it both satisfyingand even joyful. So here's to lots of candles, plenty of cake.

Anna Quindlenis the author of five previous bestselling novels (Rise and Shine,Blessings, Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue), and sevennonfiction books (A Short Guide to a Happy Life, Good Dog. Stay., BeingPerfect, Loud & Clear, Living Out Loud, Thinking Out Loud, and How ReadingChanged My Life). Her New York Times column "Public andPrivate" won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992. From 2000-2009, She wrote the"Last Word" column for Newsweek.