Following her acclaimed Ruined by Reading , Lynne Sharon Schwartz moves from the world of books to the broader world outside, tracing the solitary self as it's shaped and defined by connections large and small. These essays move through a landscape of varied encounters that blossom into self-discovery for the reader as well as the writer. Once again, we find ourselves illuminated by Schwartz's relentless, sometimes hopeful, and always fiercely intelligent gaze.