The Only Sounds We Make: Essays

With grace, charm, and insight, Zacharias (Lessons) shares personal stories that explore how we make sense of memory, our histories, and our connections%E2%80%94to family, the past, and the wider world. Filled with revelatory observations and relatable situations, the 13 essays cover the author's Midwestern childhood, her fraught family history and first marriage, and her interactions with nature, among other subjects. The engaging cast of characters includes her first husband, for whom she put her own future on hold; and the second husband and son of a happier second marriage; her taciturn, disapproving father, whose suicide looms large; and her demanding, but loving mother. Throughout, the author reflects on the natural world, from insects and scavenger birds to natural light. Some essays have heavy-handedness moments, and with a mix of new and previously published works, stories occasionally repeat themselves. Overall, readers will be drawn into Zacharias's world, which she studies with candor and elegance. (May)