Praise for Previous Work
“John West’s pursuit of truth and beauty in this book is both masterful and unforgettable.”
—Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I’m Someone Else
“[West] can make moments of the highest lyricism, also moments of perfect clarity.”
—Shane McCrae, author of The Gilded Auction Block
“[A] melodic and observant book unafraid to circle the complexities of love and parenthood. Smart, potent, and fearless writing.”
—Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of How Strange a Season
“West finds possibilities for language that birth possibilities for how to be. A singular book.”
—James K. A. Smith, author of Make Your Home in This Luminous Dark
“With sensitivity and wild intelligence, John West . . . enlists the power of poetry, the consolation of philosophy, and the intense scrutiny of the autobiographical to describe—lyrically and movingly—the reconstruction of the self.”
—Mark Wunderlich, author of God of Nothingness
“Memoirs composed of sections are tempting to a writer, but the deeper difficulties belie the seeming ease. The overall rhythm, the weave of recurrence, the manipulation of the timeline—every element must be tuned by instinct. John West has that instinct. . . . Self-scouring at every turn, [Lessons and Carols] pays off in shocks of joy and affirms the grounding sobriety of parenthood.”
—Sven Birkerts, editor emeritus of AGNI and author of Then, Again: The Art of Time in the Memoir
