"Truth and Beauty," by Ann Patchett

Ann Patchett is a highly esteemed and beloved writer, author of such novels as “Bel Canto,” “Run,” and “State of Wonder,” all of which are wonderful. I also recommend her collection of essays, which doubles as a sort of memoir, “This is the Story of a Happy Marriage.” Patchett is also known for the valiant action of opening a bookstore in Nashville a few years ago, in response to -- and despite -- the decline of independent bookstores. I recently picked up an earlier Patchett book that I hadn’t read before, “Truth & Beauty” (HarperCollins, 2004). This book tells the story of the author’s close friendship with a fellow author, Lucy Grealy. Grealy is best known for her memoir, “Autobiography of a Face,” which tells of a life dominated by the ravages of a childhood cancer of the jaw, the many treatments and surgeries she had endured, and her fragile health, as well as her enormous appetite for living life to its fullest. Patchett and Grealy met in college, and later both studied at the famed Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Both authors were successful. But this book focuses on the intensity of the friendship between the two, through thick and thin, no matter what else was going on in their lives. They truly loved each other, and were completely loyal to each other. Patchett never congratulates herself on her loyalty to Grealy, despite her huge and tumultuous personality and her neediness; it is just a given. And because they were so close, she doesn’t just focus on what most other people focused on: Lucy’s deformed face. She writes about both women’s writing, their insecurities, their love affairs, their travels, their nights of drinking and dancing with friends and lovers, and more. Finally, though, both Patchett and we, the readers, have to face the reality of how difficult life was for Lucy Grealy, and of how her difficulties led to some self-destructive behavior. And then Patchett – and we – have to face Grealy’s death. This book is sometimes difficult to read, especially about the worst parts and periods of Lucy’s life, but is also beautifully written and inspiring. Ann Patchett has given us a shining but candid tribute to Grealy, and to the power of friendship.