BOOKS
Review of Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake: A Memoir, by Anna Quindlen
Anna Quindlen—New York Times columnist, best-selling author, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize—seems just like us, which is what makes her memoir, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake (Random House, 2012; 182 pp.), so compelling. Quindlen first won our hearts with her newspaper column, “Life in the 30’s,” about her own life as a young mother of two little boys. Although she was unsure whether her feelings on such mundane issues as sibling rivalry and toilet training would be of interest to readers, she received feedback from all over the country: Fans said she was writing about the same issues they were dealing with every day. This feedback changed her life. Quindlen’s work—a total of 13 books—has since appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists; A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. In Quindlen’s thoughtful and funny memoir, she looks back on her life and likes what she sees . . .

STYLE
Mothers and Daughters: Who Really Cares How My Hair Looks?
Mothers can be so annoying . . . until you don’t have one, and realize that nobody else really cares that much whether you “need” that second serving of ice cream, or ought to get a haircut, or go to church more, or load your dishwasher the most efficient way. As Mother’s Day approaches, people tend to get all sweet and gooey like a chocolate cream in the sun on the subject of mothers and motherhood. So I have to hand it to the Wall Street Journal’s fluff section for tackling the overbearing mother problem just a couple of weeks ago . . .

PERSPECTIVE
Empty Nesters and Their Pets: Ode to a Fallen Budgie
Birds have always fascinated me. I remember, as a kid, lying on my back in the meadow and watching a hawk circle slowly in the sky until, spotting a field mouse, it would dive lightning fast into the tall grass and reappear seconds later with its prey imprisoned in its deadly talons. I used to take care of the birds I found limping around the barn who suffered from shotgun wounds. I remember once nursing a badly wounded mallard back to life. It stayed with me for more than a year, and then one day, it flew away forever. Whether it found a mate, or fell to another hunter's gun, I'll never know. In all seasons, birds are a joy to behold: Chirping robins in the spring, swans gliding on a summer pond, the flash of pheasants in the fall, gulls swirling on a wintry shore. But birds in cages are another matter. As far as I was concerned, birds and cages were mutually exclusive. At least, that's the way I saw it until Joey came into my life . . .

COUPLES
Want to Keep It Fresh? Get a Kayak
I’m sitting at my computer on a recent Saturday afternoon, attempting to finish up some emails and billing left over from the workweek, while in my head I’m coming up with a plan of attack for our very busy weekend. Suddenly, my husband interrupts my trance. “Hey, EMS is having an equipment demo up at Green Lane Park. We can try kayaks, bicycles, you name it,” Gary calls out from the next room. “When is it?” I reply, my eyes not leaving my computer screen. “Today, from 10 to 4,” he says. “I just got the email.” I look at my watch. It’s one o’clock. “You’ve got to be kidding” . . .

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