New Life, No Instructions: A Memoir

The Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times bestselling author of Let€s Take the Long Way Home now gives us a stunning, exquisitely written memoir about a dramatic turning point in her life, which unexpectedly opened up a world of understanding, possibility, and connection. New Life, No Instructions is about the surprising way life can begin again, at any age.
 
€œWhat do you do when the story changes in midlife? When a tale you have told yourself turns out to be a little untrue, just enough to throw the world off-kilter? It€s like leaving the train at the wrong stop: You are still you, but in a new place, there by accident or grace, and you will need your wits about you to proceed.
 
€œAny change that matters, or takes, begins as immeasurably small. Then it accumulates, moss on stone, and after a few thousand years of not interfering, you have a glen, or a waterfall, or a field of hope where sorrow used to be.
 
€œI suppose all of us consider our loved ones extraordinary; that is one of the elixirs of attachment. But over the months of pain and disrepair of that winter, I felt something that made the grimness tolerable: I felt blessed by the tribe I was part of. Here I was, supposedly solo, and the real truth was that I had a force field of connection surrounding me.
 
€œMost of all I told this story because I wanted to say something about hope and the absence of it, and how we keep going anyway. About second chances, and how they€re sometimes buried amid the dross, even when you€re poised for the downhill grade. The narrative can always turn out to be a different story from what you expected.€
 
Praise for New Life, No Instructions
 
€œBrimming with insights and wisdom . . . As far as I€m concerned, Caldwell can write about whatever she pleases. . . . Unabashed dispatches from lifelong single women are a fairly recent phenomenon. Caldwell has so much more to teach us.€€"Kate Bolick, The New York Times Book Review

€œGail Caldwell offers the kind of wisdom and grace you€d wish a friend, sister, or mother might deliver. . . . Fans and new readers alike will find comfort in Caldwell€s voice.€€"The Boston Globe
 
€œQuiet but powerful . . . an absorbing meditation on grief and rebirth in midlife.€€"More
 
€œEloquent and uplifting . . . [a story] to inspire you.€€"Good Housekeeping
 
€œGraceful and reflective.€€"USA Today
 
€œ[Caldwell] confronts, with pluck and fortitude, the hurdles that life throws her way.€€"Publishers Weekly
 
€œAn uplifting journey . . . This book celebrates finding support where you least expect it.€€"Woman€s Day
 
€œ[A] beautifully written memoir.€€"Parade
 
€œ[A] thoughtful, wide-eyed view of the world . . . [Caldwell] ably explores the shifts of our hearts.€€"Kirkus Reviews
 
€œGetting old, as they say, is not for sissies, and no one would call Pulitzer Prize€“winner Caldwell a wimp. . . . There may not have been a road map for the life-changing trip [she] was about to take, but . . . Caldwell realized she had the power to endure.€€"Booklist