The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait

"Show me a family and I’ll show you a mess. Families are made up of people, and people are volatile, selfish and stubborn. They’re also creative and resilient and lovable. And so for all of the sadness and chaos recorded in Blake Bailey’s memoir about a troubled brother and a fractured family, the book is lit from within by the steady, mellow light of acceptance and forgiveness. Bailey, the author of major biographies of John Cheever and Richard Yates, doesn’t gloss over his own screw-ups as he recounts his brother’s prolonged slide toward tragedy. This memoir is an eloquent reminder that no matter where you go or what you do in your life, you never really leave home."