{"product_id":"book-emy6","title":"Smile","description":"\u003cb\u003e* A \u003ci\u003ePeople\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year * \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e’s Most Anticipated List * Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence *\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the MacArthur genius, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, and playwright, this “captivating, insightful memoir” (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review) is “a beautiful meditation on identity and how we see ourselves” (\u003ci\u003eReal Simple\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith a play opening on Broadway, and every reason to smile, Sarah Ruhl has just survived a high-risk pregnancy when she discovers the left side of her face is completely paralyzed. She is assured that 90 percent of Bell’s palsy patients experience a full recovery—like Ruhl’s own mother. But Sarah is in the unlucky ten percent. And for a woman, wife, mother, and artist working in 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn a series of piercing, profound, and lucid meditations, Ruhl chronicles her journey as a patient, wife, mother, and artist. She explores the struggle of a body yearning to match its inner landscape, the pain of postpartum 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.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAn intimate and “stunning” (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review) examination of loss and reconciliation, “Ruhl reminds us that a smile is not just a smile but a vital form of communication, of bonding, of what makes us human” (\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e). Brimming with insight, humility, and levity, \u003ci\u003eSmile\u003c\/i\u003e is a triumph by one of America’s leading playwrights.","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster Audio","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49346841346352,"sku":"BDemy6","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio CD","offer_id":49346841411888,"sku":"10emy6","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/emy6-Square-cover.jpg?v=1770739955","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-emy6","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}