You Could Make This Place Beautiful is a memoir by Maggie Smith (not the actress) and her experience with betrayal and divorce. As a poet, Smith is really attentive with her words and the metaphors she uses to describe her experience that is specific to her but also is broad enough to help others realize the power within themselves.
I loved this book so much! I liked how Smith was constantly questioning, constantly refining, and allowing herself to change her mind as her book unfolded. She was able to articulate her feelings of pain and happiness so well, and I admired how she acknowledged some of the gaps in her knowledge throughout the book. She starts the book saying that this isn't a tell all but a "tell mine." The sense of ownership she takes on her story, while admitting that there might be more that isn't known to her, made this seem personal but also relatable.
My favorite metaphor in this book is the one with the nesting dolls. Smith writes that we are all like nesting dolls with each doll symbolizing a different version of ourselves that we can access at any time if we dig deep enough into our own selves. Sometimes, I feel like it's hard to get lost in the external and losing touch with ourselves at times, but I found a lot of comfort in this that the past versions of me will never leave me, and I can access them at any time. The lyrical quality of Smith's writing, no doubt coming from her background in poetry, is just so beautiful that each section of the memoir is its own piece part of a larger story.
Have you read You Could Make This Place Beautiful? I'd love to know what you think!
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