SOURCE: McMichael, Barbara Lloyd. “Blessings Sewes Up Faith, Hope.” Seattle Times (6 October 2002): L10.

In the following review, McMichael lauds Quindlen's realistic dialogue and characterization and her portrayal of emotion in Blessings.

The timeworn admonition to “count your blessings” takes on profound new dimensions in a moving new novel by Anna Quindlen.

The author already has forged a reputation for putting her finger on the pulse of the American condition, both in her Pulitzer Prize-winning columns and in her long-form works of fiction and nonfiction, which include A Short Guide to a Happy Life and One True Thing. Quindlen's latest effort, Blessings, is a celebration of second chances, an affirmation that regrets can be taken as lessons, not life sentences.

The title derives from the name of the estate owned by octogenarian Lydia Blessing. She had been a mere girl when her father bought the place as a retreat...