My February pick for our Read Like an Artist book club is Sarah Ruhl’s Smile: The Story of a Face. To get the book in time to join our discussion next month, sign up now.

Unboxing February’s @literati read! https://t.co/vCW2dMaPDt pic.twitter.com/WzKf0ylcVq

— Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) January 26, 2022

Here’s my intro:

Sarah Ruhl is a playwright, a MacArthur genius, and two-time Pulitzer finalist. This book is about what happened after she survived a high-risk pregnancy and woke up with the left half of her face paralyzed by Bell’s palsy, losing her ability to smile. Ruhl transcends the genre of medical memoir: As she did in her wonderful book, 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time To Write, Ruhl weaves a tapestry of wit and wisdom out of her experiences with creative work, motherhood, and her reading life. I love the way this book made me think about beauty, asymmetry, and imperfection.

I’m also delighted to note that Sarah has agreed to chat with me online about the book in late February, so stay tuned for that.