Dani Shapiro

Last night I attended a book reading at the Brookline Booksmith with author Dani Shapiro.  I have followed Dani on social media since seeing her on an Oprah episode years ago but didn't know much beyond her Instagram feed.  I had never been to a book reading and don't even think I've been to Coolidge Corner.

As is the case every single time I push myself out of my routine, I am wildly glad I did.  Dani was beautiful - both in her "author-chic" effortless style and her masterful articulation and ability to facilitate a discussion.  The book prompted wonderful discussion of history, medical ethics and what it means to be a family.   I can't wait to read Inheritance.

However, more than Dani and the book, was the satisfaction from an intellectually stimulating night in the city that I am privileged to call home.  The room was at capacity as like-minded men and women arranged to be there on a winter Wednesday evening.   Some likely hired babysitters, others navigated the crowded Green Line and some just showered, brushed their teeth and said - I'm getting off the couch and doing this.  A reminder, like so many activities, that life expands and contracts by your willingness to live it.   A wonderful night with a signed book to remember it by!

“When I think of the wisest people I know, they share one defining trait: curiosity. They turn away from the minutiae of their lives-and focus on the world around them. They are motivated by the desire to explore the unfamiliar. They are drawn toward what they don't understand.”   Dani Shapiro