I’m embarrassed it took me this long to read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. In fact, I’ll admit, after skimming the page cover one day in the bookstore years ago, I saw the “family growing up in 1939” bit and just wasn’t in a Depression-era kind of mood. I think I read Candace Bushnell’s Trading Up instead. (And, well, I loved that, too. Bushnell sure can weave a good story.)

In any case, I finally feasted on this wonderful book by Betty Smith, and it was absolutely delicious. I can’t recommend it enough, whatever “mood” you’re in. But I’d like to draw attention to the part of the book that contains some of the best man advice I’ve seen in a while…

“Francie felt sorry for Flossie. She never gave up hope no matter how many times she lost out with Frank. Flossie was always running after men and they were always running away from her. Francie’s Aunt Sissy ran after men, too. But somehow they ran to meet her halfway. The difference was that Flossie Gaddis was starved about men, and Sissy was healthily hungry about them. And what a difference that made.”

Don’t you just love that? Smith knew what she was talking about, and it’s great advice: Don’t feel starved for love. Feel healthily hungry.

Big love,