The getaway car: a practical memoir about writing and life

Ann Patchett's The Getaway Car doesn't offer prospective writers a step-by-step guide to the craft of fiction. Instead, this primer from the highly-respected novelist mostly shares her own experiences--her childhood dream, her life as a struggling writer who sets aside her work to make ends meet, and her ultimate success, reached with the help of teacher/mentors like Russell Banks and Grace Paley. Though Patchett attributes much of her achievements to good luck and hard work, her story contains enough specific advice ("The ability to forgive oneself" is crucial, Patchett writes) and words of encouragement to make it worth a read. --Shirley Hong