On the bookshelf, #2008-46

Loud and Clear, by Anna Quindlen

This book is a collection of Anna Quindlen’s columns and speeches from her years as a veteran reporter and columnist for Newsweek and The New York Times. As a mother of three living in New York City and as a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, she provided unique glimpses into the every day, the topical, and the absurd. The most memorable, passionate pieces are those she wrote to capture the emotions, perceptions, and reactions to 9/11.

From the bn.com site:

With her trademark insight and her special ability to convey the impact public events have on ordinary lives, Quindlen here combines commentary on American society and the world at large with reflections on being a woman, a writer, and a mother. In these pieces, first written for Newsweek and The New York Times, Loud and Clear takes on topics ranging from social change to raising children, from the political and emotional aftermath of September 11 to personal values, from the impact on individuals of global events to the growth that can be gained by spending summer days staring into the middle distance. Grounding the public in the private, connecting people to each other and to the greater world, Quindlen encourages us to develop authentic lives, even as she serves as a catalyst for political and social change.

This book stirred emotions. I often found myself chuckling or crying, sometimes within the same piece. Anna Quindlen has a great gift for using words to evoke responses from her readers. It was a wonderful read.