One More Theory About Happiness: A Memoir [Paperback]

“In these lyrical, searing pages, Guest manages to break our hearts and put them back together again.”
—Ann Hood

In the tradition of Lucy Grealy’sAutobiography of a Face,One More Theory About Happinessis a bold and original memoir from the acclaimed, Whiting Award-winning poet Paul Guest, author ofMy Index of Horrifying Knowledge. A remarkable account of the accident that left him a quadriplegic, and his struggle to find independence, love, and a life on his own terms,One More Theory About Happinesshas been praised by Charles Bock, author ofBeautiful Children, as, “Smart and honest and clear eyed and above all, humane.”

 

Whiting Award-winning poet Paul Guest was twelve years old, racing down a hill on a too-big, ancient bicycle when he discovered he had no brakes. Trying to steer into anything that would slow him down, he hit a ditch, was thrown over the handlebars, and broke his neck.

One More Theory About Happinessfollows a boy into manhood, his path marked by a hard-earned acceptance and a biting sense of humor. In incisive and lyrical prose, Guest shows us that a body irrevocably changed can lead to a life fiercely cherished.

Guests poems combine furious rage with furious excitement in long, breathless lines that, at the last possible moment, break.Guest writes more directly than ever before about his paralysis.... Guests work, which cannot redeem his brokenness or ours...makes something beautiful out of it. And that is enough.[Guest] tells his story in short scenes that break to white space before they might prompt pity. He zigzags before we might hold him up as an example, a symbol...His memoir voice is gentle and matter-of-fact. His details are astounding and unforgettable.Guest remembers; gently, carefully, painfully, each new milestone from the accident forward. He is blessed with a sharp sense of humor...it is an effel£3