In her memoir You Could Make This Place Beautiful, poet Maggie Smith mines the dissolution of her marriage as the starting point for a meditation on her life and the roles she’s assumed during it: wife, mother, daughter, artist, woman. Drawing its name from the final line of her viral 2016 poem, “Good Bones,” the book shows how the fame and success Smith experienced exacerbated the cracks in her marriage. Working through her grief over her divorce with tenacity, humor, and grace, Smith offers a thoughtful and vulnerable portrait of the possibilities after heartbreak. —Cady Lang
Buy Now: You Could Make This Place Beautiful on Bookshop | Amazon
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Why Cell Phone Reception Is Getting Worse
- The Dirty Secrets of Alternative Plastics
- Israeli Family Celebrates Release of Hostage Grandmother
- We Should Get Paid for Our Online Data: Column
- The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2023
- The Top 100 Photos of 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
