Smile: The Story of a Face

Very well-written and dealt with so many topics: family love, feminism, illness, and grief. It also encouraged gratitude without being preachy or obnoxious about it. Made me think about how the inability to smile might affect my experience of joy and how my ability to do so enhances my happiness. I hope to read more by this soulful writer in the future.

Smile: The Story of A Face is a memoir of Sarah Ruhl's journey through a slow recovery from Bell's Palsy. Ruhl is a playwriter and mother of three children who winds up Bell's Palsy after delivering her twins. It took me longer to finish this book than it should have. In the down moments I did have in my busy schedule – the book wasn't begging me to come back to it to check in to see how Sarah was doing in her progress. I read this book as part o...read more