While grads may have little idea of what's coming next, there's great pleasure to be found in not knowing and not having everything defined. Bestselling author Patchett shares her wit and heartfelt advice in this beautiful gift book that is sure to become a perennial favorite.
Read More
While grads may have little idea of what's coming next, there's great pleasure to be found in not knowing and not having everything defined. Bestselling author Patchett shares her wit and heartfelt advice in this beautiful gift book that is sure to become a perennial favorite.
Read Less
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $1.39, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. Book is considered to be in acceptable condition. The actual cover image may not match the stock photo. Book may have one or more of the following defects: noticeable wear on the cover dust jacket or spine; curved dog eared or creased page s; writing or highlighting inside or on the edges; sticker s or other adhesive on cover; CD DVD may not be included; and book may be a former library copy.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $1.39, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books East rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale Heights, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $1.39, fair condition, Sold by Greenworld Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. A well-loved copy with text fully readable and cover pages intact. May display wear such as writing highlighting bends folds or library marks. Still a complete and usable book.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $1.40, good condition, Sold by Greenworld Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Good condition. It may show normal signs of use such as light writing highlighting or library markings but all pages are intact and the book is fully readable. A solid complete copy that's ready to enjoy.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $1.43, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books East rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glendale Heights, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $1.46, fair condition, Sold by Aspen Book Company rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Denver, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fair. It's been through some chapters of life! Expect visible wear-creases notes highlights maybe even a splash of water here and there. Perfect for readers who love a book with history.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $1.73, good condition, Sold by Zoom Books Company rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lynden, WA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Book is in very good condition and may include minimal underlining highlighting. The book can also include From the library of labels. May not contain miscellaneous items toys dvds etc. We offer 100% money back guarantee and 24 7 customer service.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $2.39, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $2.39, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Austell, GA, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
Add this copy of What Now? to cart. $2.39, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Reno rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Reno, NV, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Harper.
I found Ann Patchett's short essay "What Now?" in the library and wanted to give it a read. Patchett is the author of the successful novel "Bel Canto" and several other books. "What Now?" is an expanded version of the commencement address Patchett gave in 2006 at her alma mater, Sarah Lawrence University. Far from graduating and setting out to work, I have just retired from a lengthy career of over 30 years. Thus, although not part of the specific audience for Patchett's essay, I am again at something of a crossroads of the type Patchett describes. I face the question "What Now?" many times as people ask me what I plan to do in retirement. And I respond, as Patchett did when she heard the question herself with something of frustration. The question marks in the title of this review are meant to be appropriate. They show better than anything else, with the possible exception of the many photos accompanying the text, the nature of the book and the open-ended character of the question. Patchett uses the question marks repeatedly in separating out the various sections of her essay.
Drawing well on her own experiences, Patchett shows how people face the question, "What Now?" at various apparent turning points of their lives: where will you go to college? what will you do after graduation? when should I change my job? and of course "what will I do when I retire"? The essay gives a good sense of how this question can be frightening, invasive, and befuddling. She also shows how the question can be parried or redirected. Sometimes a person needs to wait and reflect and take life in the moment. An individual changes, life moves on, and direction is taken unobtrusively, not only in seemingly critical moments of choice.
Learning is continuous and comes in unexpected places. Patchett describes an encounter with an adherent of Hare Krishna years ago at a Chicago airport. While Patchett was leery of the man and his sect, his goal was not to convert or to seduce. Rather, the Hare Krishna adherent wanted only to talk and to help Patchett with the mundane task of moving her heavy baggage from one section of the large airport to another, distant part of the terminal. Patchett learned from the young man's eagerness to talk and from his devotion to God, as he understood God, in the life he had chosen at least for that moment. The Hare Krishna adherent had answered the question "What Now" by his life. In other episodes, Patchett shows how she unexpectedly spent time after her graduation from Sarah Lawrence in simply wandering, and in working as a waitress at a chain fast-food restaurant. She seemed far from her goal of becoming a writer but learned things in unexpected ways from people she would not have thought had anything to teach her. She came to her dream in a circuitous way. Other people develop their dream as they go along.
I do not feel especially stressed at retirement or at thinking about what to do. But I did feel stressed much of the time as a younger man as I faced the "What Now?" choices Patchett describes -- college, Law School, career, advancement, and the possibility of uncertainty and disappointment. There undoubtedly was much to learn as I faced these "What Nows?". Patchett's essay is simple and wise. There is something to be said for both change and patience. And people find what they need in unexpected places.
