The Merry Recluse: A Life in Essays

It’s a bunch of funny stories about her life. She was a writer and an introvert. She had a close boyfriend and friends, but likes to spend time with her dogs and friends, not big gatherings. She wrote about her ups and downs with this.

Actually, Caroline died in 2002.Her obituary in the Boston Phoenix read in part: CAROLINE KNAPP, who for 11 years worked for the Phoenix newspapers - first as a staff writer and editor, and then as a contributing columnist - died on Monday, June 3, from complications arising from lung cancer. She was 42. As a writer, Caroline had a signature style. Her grace sometimes masked the broad stretch of her range. As a reporter, she was dogged and inventive....And as an editor, she balanced exacting standards with a gift for nurture. But it was as a columnist and a memoirist that she made her mark. She launched a feature called "Out There," which is now written by several contributors, but which in her time at the Phoenix was her special preserve. Whether she was writing about politics, feminism, or the perilous state of modern relationships, the tone was unmistakably her own. Reserved in person, she was ruthlessly self-revelatory at the keyboard. The common denominator of her private and public selves was her wry sense of humor. Caroline died at Mount Auburn Hospital, where she was closely attended during the days before her death by her family, her friend and companion of many years, photographer Mark Morelli, and her dog, Lucille. Caroline and Mark were married in May, a few weeks after she was diagnosed." [...]

These essays are, in a way, a summary of Knapp's other books, dealing with her struggles with anorexia and alcoholism; the death of both her parents from cancer; her relationships with both her twin sister and her beloved dog; her fondness for new shoes and endless games of computer solitaire; the horror of bad-hair days and bad-all-over-body days. The writing is elegant and clear. Though the essays are based on her own experience, there is no impression of narcissism. Knapp had a talent for searching her hard-won self-knowledge for those kernels of truth that apply to so many of us. By the end of the book, you'll feel as though she could have been a friend of yours, if only you had been that fortunate. One curiosity -- although she explored so many addictions and preoccupations in print, it seems she never addressed the smoking that, as her mother warned her (in "Drinking: A Love Story," a book that I also recommend), eventually killed her.

(...)Knapp's willingness to thoroughly examine herself and her demons-- drinking, anorexia-- has provided many of us with a precious resource and lifeline in dealing with our own troubles. Her insights on her relationship with her parents, and her close bond to her dog, provide the reader with thoughtful reflections on the nature of human connections.

I love Caroline Knapp. I have read all of her books, including Drinking: A Love Story, despite not having any problems with alcohol. These essays are insightful, poignant, and they wonderfully express emotions that everyone can connect with. Caroline Knapp wrote with humor and seemed to invest her whole soul into all of her writing. I disagree with the reviewer who said that some of the lighter essays were out of place, each essay provided a broader look of the author and allowed me the connection of humor as well as other connecting on more serious levels. I especially liked Lucille vs Stumpy, Letter to Zoe and Speaking out for shyness.I believe that anyone who enjoys good writing, reflective thinking and has a sense of humor will enjoy these essays.

Imagine having thought that a cherished friend was lost to you forever, and then to have her return unexpectedly for a brief time, knowing this is to be her last visit ever. For anyone who loved Caroline Knapp's writing, and mourned her premature death just two years ago, this book filled with her essays is just such a lovely gift. As with much of her other work, including "Drinking, A Love Story", and "Pack of Two", she had an amazing talent for intricately expressing her thoughts in an unusually accessible manner. While most of her essays focus on "women's issues", her reflections and sentiments are undoubtedly universal. Thank you to her editor, Sandra Shea, for giving us another chance to pull up a chair and share some intimate moments with this extraordinary writer.