Book
Smile : the story of a face
Record details
- ISBN: 1982150947
- ISBN: 9781982150945
- ISBN: 9781982150945 : HRD
- ISBN: 9781982150969
- ISBN: 1982150947 : HRD
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Physical Description:
pages cm
print - Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2021.
Content descriptions
| Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references. |
| Summary, etc.: | "In this poignant and deeply intimate memoir, Sarah Ruhl chronicles her experience with Bell's palsy after giving birth to twins. At night, I dreamed that I could smile. The smile felt effortless in my dreams, the way it did in my childhood. Happily married and in the flush of hard-earned professional success, with her first play opening on Broadway, Sarah Ruhl has just survived a high risk pregnancy and given birth to twins when she discovers the left side of her face entirely paralyzed. Bell's palsy. Ninety percent of Bell's palsy sufferers see spontaneous improvement and full recovery. Like Ruhl's mother. Like Angelina Jolie. But not like Sarah Ruhl. Sarah Ruhl is in the unlucky ten percent. Like Allen Ginsberg. But for a woman, a mother, a wife, and an artist working in the realm of theater, the paralysis and the disconnect between the interior and exterior, brings significant and specific challenges. So Ruhl begins an intense decade-long search for a cure, while simultaneously grappling with the reality of her new face-one that, while recognizably her own-is incapable of accurately communicating feelings or intentions. In a series of searing, witty, and lucid meditations, Ruhl chronicles her journey as a patient, mother, wife, and artist. She details the struggle of a body yearning to match its inner landscape, the pain post-partum depression, the joys and trials of marriage and being a playwright and a mother to three tiny children, and the desire for a resilient spiritual life in the face of difficulty. Brimming with insight, humility, and levity, SMILE is a triumph by one of the leading playwrights in America. It is about loss and reconciliation, perseverance and hope. The Hollywood pitch would be Joan Didion meets Ann Lamott with a little Nora Ephron for good measure"-- |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | Ruhl, Sarah 1974- Facial paralysis Biography Dramatists, American 21st century Biography |
| Genre: | Autobiographies. |
Available copies
- 20 of 21 copies available at Bibliomation.
- 1 of 1 copy available at Easton Public Library. (Show preferred library)
Holds
- 0 current holds with 21 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easton Public Library | MEM RUHL, SARAH (Text) | 37777123607566 | Display Item | Available | - |
| Brookfield Library | 921/RUHL (Text) | 34029150046125 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
| C.H. Booth Library - Newtown | B RUHL (Text) | 34014150060995 | Adult Biography | Available | - |
| David M. Hunt Library - Falls Village | B RUHL (Text) | 33180141826637 | Adult Biography | Available | - |
| Deep River Public Library | B Ruhl (Text) | 36039150634133 | Adult Biography | Available | - |
| Douglas Library of Hebron | B RUHL (Text) | 33400148849634 | Adult Biography | Available | - |
| Edith Wheeler Memorial Library - Monroe | 812.6 RUHL (Text) | 34026150695448 | Adult Nonfiction | Checked out | 05/08/2024 |
| Jonathan Trumbull Library - Lebanon | B RUHL (Text) | 33430152300877 | Adult Biography | Available | - |
| Kent Library Association - Kent | B RUH (Text) | 33410147738472 | Adult Biography | Available | - |
| Kent Memorial Library - Suffield | 812.6 R (Text) | 32518149164355 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
