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A Beautiful Memoir

 A book I sometimes recall is the memoir "Smile," by Sarah Ruhl.


Ruhl was a big-deal playwright when she learned she would be giving birth to twins. The pregnancy had complications; Ruhl was told to remain on bed rest. (Ruhl observes that men invented the concept of "bed rest," and that the efficacy of the "treatment" is debatable, at best. This is the first of many cool-yet-scathing moments in Ruhl's story.)

Ruhl sleeps; she reads "Twilight." She sees all the "Twilight" films. She borrows the letters of Elizabeth Bishop.

After Ruhl gives birth, her face collapses. The problem is Bell's Palsy--something that could be temporary, or could be permanent.

And ten years elapse. Ruhl's life is turned on its head. She sits at home and feels anger toward her spouse. ("No one notes that Shakespeare had twins. There is an approximate decade of silence in Shakespeare's career. No one says, that's when Anne Hathaway smacked her husband. Anne hissed, You'd better stop writing those fucking plays. You'd better get over here and hold a fucking baby.")

Ruhl sees several doctors--many of them men, many showing questionable levels of competence. Doctors tend to say, "Too much time has passed. You'll never get your face back." One really sharp doctor hears Ruhl mention her Irish heritage in a joke; the doctor says, "You're Irish, and so you probably have celiac disease." This blithe remark then has life-saving consequences.

Ruhl does triumph over her facial paralysis, in a way that is surprising and inspiring. Alongside her, you note her brilliant observations about rage, about how much we all rely on our lips and teeth, about how much nonsense women must tolerate in America. ("Who decided that Nicole Kidman had to become dour and unrecognizable to play Virginia Woolf? Who decided that Virginia Woolf was not a beauty?")

Ruhl herself observes that the story is not a major-key drama: This is a story of disappointment, and coping. Because Ruhl has kaleidoscopic gifts, and a great soul, you're happy to follow her wherever she chooses to go.

This is one purchase I will defend to the grave--one of my few smart purchases in recent history.
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