Smile : the story of a face / Sarah Ruhl.
"In this poignant and deeply intimate memoir, Sarah Ruhl chronicles her experience with Bell's palsy after giving birth to twins. At night, I dreamed that I could smile. The smile felt effortless in my dreams, the way it did in my childhood. Happily married and in the flush of hard-earned professional success, with her first play opening on Broadway, Sarah Ruhl has just survived a high risk pregnancy and given birth to twins when she discovers the left side of her face entirely paralyzed. Bell's palsy. Ninety percent of Bell's palsy sufferers see spontaneous improvement and full recovery. Like Ruhl's mother. Like Angelina Jolie. But not like Sarah Ruhl. Sarah Ruhl is in the unlucky ten percent. Like Allen Ginsberg. But for a woman, a mother, a wife, and an artist working in the realm of theater, the paralysis and the disconnect between the interior and exterior, brings significant and specific challenges. So Ruhl begins an intense decade-long search for a cure, while simultaneously grappling with the reality of her new face--one that, while recognizably her own--is incapable of accurately communicating feelings or intentions. In a series of searing, witty, and lucid meditations, Ruhl chronicles her journey as a patient, mother, wife, and artist. She details the struggle of a body yearning to match its inner landscape, the pain of post-partum depression, the story of a marriage, being a playwright and working mom to three small children, and the desire for a resilient spiritual life in the face of illness. Brimming with insight, humility, and levity, SMILE is a triumph by one of the leading playwrights in America. It is about loss and reconciliation, perseverance and hope."-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781982150945 (hardcover)
- ISBN: 1982150947 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 241 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
- Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
- Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, [2021]
- Copyright: ©2021
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references (pages 235-241). |
Search for related items by subject
Subject: | Ruhl, Sarah, 1974- Facial paralysis > Biography. Dramatists, American > 21st century > Biography. |
Genre: | Autobiographies. |
Available copies
- 16 of 16 copies available at SPARK Libraries.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 16 total copies.
Other Formats and Editions
Show Only Available Copies
Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albright Memorial Library | 92 RUHL (Text) | 50686016101714 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Altoona Area Public Library | 812.6 RUH (Text) | 33240004928738 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Gettysburg Library | BIOG RUHL-S (Text)
Endowment:
Susan Schubart Named Endowment, 2021
|
35740635781099 | Biography | Available | - |
Green Free Library (Wellsboro) | 921 RUHL (Text) | 92524907 | GFWM Main Room | Available | - |
Highland Community Library | B RUH (Text) | 35610000982459 | HGHM Biography | Available | - |
Indian Valley Public Library | Biography Ruhl (Text) | 39427103611257 | Nonfiction Room: Adult Biography | Available | - |
Kreutz Creek Valley Library | Adults Ruhl Biography (Text) | 34261000619674 | Adult Area | Available | - |
Mason-Dixon Public Library | Adults RUHL Biography (Text) | 34262000766002 | Reading Room | Available | - |
Montrose | 92-R RUHL Ruh (Text) | 37000009422053 | SSQM Main Floor | Available | - |
Parkland Community Library | B RUHL RUH (Text) | 34422007227487 | Adult Biography | Available | - |