Chicago Tribune

What we’re reading: A pair of memoirs about fresh starts are two of the best books of 2022. Already?

I’ve been reading about transformation. Which is what you’re supposed to be thinking about at the onset of a new year — a new you, refreshed and eager, free from the excess and confusion that accumulated over the past 12 months and culminated with six weeks of anxiety and joy and gratitude and melancholy. That’s all behind you now. Begin again! Hit factory reset! At least that’s the elevator ...

I’ve been reading about transformation.

Which is what you’re supposed to be thinking about at the onset of a new year — a new you, refreshed and eager, free from the excess and confusion that accumulated over the past 12 months and culminated with six weeks of anxiety and joy and gratitude and melancholy. That’s all behind you now. Begin again! Hit factory reset! At least that’s the elevator pitch. That’s why the first weeks of a new year get packaged as a period of self-care. And why, I suspect, a pair of excellent new books — both of which, had they been published a few weeks ago, would have been among the best of

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