I love Maggie Smith's poetry--she has a great, sharp mind that can see really lovely and brilliant things. Sometimes I resist platitudes, especially when the author keeps attaching one's own name to Instagram-worthy squares, but I do love Smith so much that I can forgive it.

Savored this collection in slow, thoughtful bites. At times provocative and at others winsome this book took me on a journey of emotions and often left me pondering how so much can be conveyed using just 26 letters, and sparingly at that. I return to this book often and i find that it always has something to tell me each time I crack it open. It always seems to meet me just where I am and deliver what I seek.

Thank you to @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of You Could Make this Life Beautiful by Maggie Smith, released April 11, 2023. This is a memoir/collection of essays, and is the story of Maggie Smith’s divorce, and her life, and her children. She is a beautiful writer, and the stories are sad, happy, hopeful all at the same time. #youcouldmakethisplacebeautiful #maggiesmith #memoir #essays #bookstagram #booklover #reader #bookblog #lovetoread #bookreview #bookrecommendation #readersofinstagram #bookloversofinstagram #takeapagefrommybook #readallthebooks #booksbooksbooks #booksofinstagram #bookwormproblems #bookaholic #booknerd #whattoread #readingtime #bookaddict #ilovetoread #ilovebooks #needtoread #readallday

Nice memoir about grief. Lots of good tidbits in here but I had to make myself finish it. Parts were a bit boring. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!

I really liked this memoir, but I guess I expected more, which is probably more on me than the author. There’s this annoying phrase she kept repeating: “I’m not going to tell you everything.” It was annoying. But overall, it felt like she wrote this for herself, which I actually love and respect

I absolutely loved You Could Make This Place Beautiful—I think I loved it for a lot of the reasons others didn't.

Maggie Smith doesn't tell the whole story; she tells HER story and is upfront about that from the beginning. For a 'tell-mine,' it is indeed beautiful and gripping. She peels back layers of pain and plants seeds of hope in some of the wounds but shows other moments as what they are—just pain, with nothing glossing over it.

She guards her children fiercely, which some see as admonishing the reader preemptively, but I see it as valid, knowing how voraciously social media and modern life demand intrusion into the deepest, darkest junctures.

Written by poet, Maggie Smith, each word in this memoir was a gift. In You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Maggie shares the story of her journey from married mom of two to divorced, single mom. It is rich with struggle, honesty, and hard truths. For anyone beginning again and looking for a little hope along the way.

Such an amazing insightful memoir. Smith really puts words onto the nuances of being a woman in a heterosexual marriage.

This was a poetic exploration of a heart-wrenching, world-overturning divorce. Smith does a great job connecting to the reader and painting lovely images. This is not a plot-driven, character-driven memoir, so don’t go into it expecting that. 3⭐️, I liked it.

It was incredible to interview Maggie Smith.
Thank you for the book so I was prepared.
AND!
My podcast just won an award for Diversity in Streming

https://www.wesaidgotravel.com/the-poet-maggie-smith-makes-this-place-beautiful/

I didn't know what to expect from this book initially. While I couldn't relate to the majority of the content, I felt it was amazingly raw, real, and well written. The style, size and type of chapter layout was so different yet made for a very easy read. Would recommend to others!

I absolutely loved this book. She made herself vulnerable without exposing everything about her life and the her trials. She shared her ongoing healing process and thoughts on her circumstances. A beautifully written book with some wonderful insights.

I will read ANYTHING by Maggie Smith. She is so profound and wonderful, and this book had me captivated from the start. Absolutely beautiful, I would definitely read this again.

Maggie Smith crafts some of the most beautiful, lyrical, lovely sentences I have read. She has a way with words that is nothing short of enchanting. I felt a bit cheated by this memoir because there's so much of "I'm not talking about that" woven into the stories, like there are some details that would be helpful for the reader that Smith is choosing not to share. But that's memoir, that's why it's not autobiography. This was very lovely and I enjoyed it. Nothing too groundbreaking.

Thank you Netgalley for this memoir from Maggie Smith. You Could Make this Place Beautiful is Smith’s story after her marriage crumbles and her story of moving in. A deep and moving read.

This book has inspired me to read more poetry, starting with the poetry by Maggie Smith. Her beautiful and emotional telling of her own story of her divorce definitely resonated with me. I really enjoyed the raw honesty of her emotions.

Very well-written about a heartwrenching topic, exactly the kind of lyrical writing you'd expect from a poet. I appreciated Smith's decision not to 'tell all' and I think it also helped make the story more relatable. Thoroughly enjoyed and will be recommending to patrons!

I loved this memoir and its focus on a woman’s relationship to herself in the wake of separation and divorce. I enjoyed the structure, the inclusion of the author’s poetry, and that in many ways this was a book about recovering from grief. The cover is gorgeous as well. I bought this as a gift for my mom after reading it and will continue to recommend it.

I loved this book. I read a lot of reviews criticizing Smith for the repetition of what she won't tell or give the reader but I loved it. It's a memoir but it wasn't about that. Smith writes beautifully and I was with her on her journey.

Maggie Smith wrote the poem, Good Bones, and that was also the beginning of the end of her marriage. In her memoir she narrates her journey of betrayal, divorce and rediscovering herself through lyrical essays. This book is brutally honest, but it’s not angry. Would I have liked it this much a few years ago… before my own divorce? Probably, but there’s something so fulfilling about someone else speaking the words you couldn’t find. But even if you haven’t walked this exact path, as women, we’ve all experienced the power dynamics that exist in every relationship. We’ve struggled to find work/family balance and the invisible labor of mothering. This book connects to women in so many ways.
I loved this book, but not in a “Oh my gosh this was so good you have to read it” way. More like “These stories need to be told.”