Nonfiction

January 13, 2019
by jenniferpuryear

She’s on the C.A.S.E.: Guest Post by Dallas Wilt

Book Title: The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

How to describe my friend Dallas… Imagine Nancy Drew, she of the yellow 1970s hardbacks – earnest, wholesome, smart, with that twinkle in her eye. Add some Bewitched charm and sparkle. Reese Witherspoon class and style. Do you have a picture? Dallas is of course her own protagonist, her own heroine – living an energetic life, raising her daughters, taking care of Fleming, and making …

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January 10, 2019
by jenniferpuryear

National Jewish Book Award Winners (and Finalists) Inspire –

Book Titles: The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming to America, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor

The noise of the news is loud every day and voices of conflict are elevated. Yet important voices of peace are always to be found, including in the books that won or were finalists for the National Jewish Book Awards for 2018 (announced yesterday). You may want to take a look at the terrific list. I’m most intrigued by The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of …

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January 6, 2019
by jenniferpuryear

Leaning In, 2019 Style: Radical Acceptance

My friend Dallas chooses a guiding motto, or theme, each January – something she wants to lean into for the year. When she wrote about it at Bacon in 2016, I was intrigued. But it’s taken me until now to do it myself. There’s something about it that seems so wishful, so hopeful – as if we have any control over what lies ahead for us …

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December 23, 2018
by jenniferpuryear

Life in the Big House: Guest Post by Chrissy Hagerty

My friend Chrissy Hagerty and her husband Bill had a big decision to make when Bill was asked to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Japan following the 2016 election. Chrissy and Bill had 4 children ages 13 and younger, all happy at their schools in Nashville. Their dog was living her best life in their suburban home and yard.

November 18, 2018
by jenniferpuryear

What Caught His Eye: Michael Shane Neal on Leonardo Da Vinci

Michael Shane Neal, close to his own half-century mark, paints portraits with an eye to history – the history of his subjects and also his own. He illuminates his subjects through his work – and is himself illuminated. He is both the revealer and the revealed. He finds the glow.

November 4, 2018
by jenniferpuryear

Testify

I was thrilled when the Headmaster of my daughters’ boarding school asked me to give a chapel talk on the topic “Why Read” over Parents Weekend. What a lovely invitation! What an honor! I worked quite hard to write a speech that I thought might be interesting to parents and students.

October 28, 2018
by jenniferpuryear

It’s Not Black and White. Or Is It?

I always stop for an Oreo McFlurry on the drive from Nashville to Atlanta. One on the way there, one on the way back. Last weekend – for the first time ever! – a book on Audible was so captivating that I didn’t need to stop.

October 23, 2018
by jenniferpuryear

City Life: Guest Post by Louise Bryan

Today’s Bacon is brought to you by Louise Bryan, a long-time and beloved book club friend and current candidate for Belle Meade City Commissioner. You get to know someone pretty well over many years of book club, and I’d like to share a few observations: Louise is bright, capable, calm, sensible and moderate in all things. She’s a planner. She’s good at both listening and …

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October 2, 2018
by jenniferpuryear

Help Wanted: Southern Festival of Books

Dear Bacon Friends – I don’t want to do this alone. I’d be so grateful for your help! I imagine you joining me – we’re up there together on stage interviewing Celeste Ng (Little Fires Everywhere) and Tayari Jones (An American Marriage) at the Southern Festival of Books. We’re hoping to start a good conversation. What serious OR not-so-serious questions shall we ask? The sky’s …

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