Book Review: You Could Make This Place Beautiful

“Sometimes I feel like I titled this book Kittens and Rainbows, and then I wrote hell.”

This quote pretty much sums up what the memoir by Maggie Smith is like. In brief chapters, with some being as short as a single sentence or a few words, Smith chronicles the end of her marriage, the painfully long period of separation before her divorce, and her subsequent rise as a poet and writer. It is evident from early on that Smith is still very much wounded by the actions of her ex, and still harbors much resentment over the time and energy she had spent on a relationship that eventually was unsuccessful. However, one beacon of hope is the love and support she has from her children, and it was heartwarming to see the wisdom and sensitivity with which they dealt with the whole situation. Overall, it’s a book about human experiences of love, loss, and finding oneself amidst it all.