Truth and Beauty

In 2004 Ann Patchett wrote the critically acclaimed and highly controversial book, Truth and Beauty.  It's about her twenty year relationship with fellow writer Lucy Grealy.  Lucy had cancer as a child.   It left her face disfigured.  She spent the rest of her life enduring endless reconstructive surgeries.  So, as you can image, Lucy was a very troubled, not easy to get along with, person.  She was extremely self centered and addicted to drugs and sex.  She eventually died of a drug overdose.

Through it all, Ann remained her friend.

In 2006 Ann Patchett was invited to Clemson University to speak to the 3,000 incoming freshmen who had been required to read Truth and Beauty over the summer.  A Clemson alum, and a member of the South Carolina Commission of higher education was offended by the book and started a huge campaign to have both Ann and the book barred from Clemson.

Following is his description:  The book talks in graphic terms about pornography, about fetish, about multiple sex partners...The book contains a very extensive list of over the top sexual and anti religious references. There is an implied lesbian relationship between n Ms. Patchett and Ms. Greely. 

Unlike this man, I found Truth and Beauty to be about a troubled human being and another human being who stuck by her even when she was at her worst.  It has made me rethink my relationships with a couple of troubled people in my life.

Of course, Clemson was not swayed by this man's efforts to ban Ann Patchett's book.  In her speech to the 3,000 students in 2006 she essentially said - don't let anyone take your books away from you.


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