"Ten years ago, my smile walked off my face, and wandered out in the world. This is the story of my asking it to come back. This is a story of how I learned to make my way when my body stopped obeying my heart."

Sarah Ruhl--acclaimed playwright, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist,  MacArthur "genius" — tells the story of a ten-year medical and metaphysical odyssey after the left side of her face became suddenly and completely paralyzed. Her book, Smile, was a New York Times best-seller and is now available in paperback.

Sarah will join BLR editor-in-chief Danielle Ofri on January 18 for a fascinating conversation about her life, her career, and her extraordinary journey to reclaim her own face.  Tickets are free!  (You can RSVP even if you can't make the exact date/time of the event, as the link will stay active afterward.)

You can purchase Smile on BLR's Bookshop page. A portion of your purchase will support BLR.

Read more about BLR and find copies of the journal at BLReview.org.

Sarah Ruhl is a playwright and writer of other things. Her fifteen plays include In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), The Clean House, and Eurydice. She has been a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, a Tony Award nominee, and the recipient of the MacArthur “genius” Fellowship. Her plays have been produced on- and off-Broadway, around the country, internationally, and have been translated into many languages. Her book 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write was a New York Times Notable Book. Her other books include Letters from Max, with Max Ritvo, 44 Poems for You, and Love Poems in Quarantine. She has received the Steinberg Playwright Award, the Samuel French Award, Feminist Press Under 40 Award, the National Theater Conference Person of the Year Award, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, a Whiting Award, a Lily Award, and a PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for mid-career playwrights. She teaches at the Yale School of Drama, and she lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Tony Charuvastra, who is a child psychiatrist, and their three children. www.SarahRuhlPlaywright.com

Danielle Ofri is editor-in-chief of BLR, and a primary care doctor at Bellevue Hospital. Her writings appear in the The New Yorker and the New York Times. Her newest book is When We Do Harm, a Doctor Confronts Medical Error. www.danielleofri.com

Praise for Smile:

“Sarah Ruhl's ravishing memoir, Smile, is that rare and gorgeous melding of gemlike, literary insights, raw honesty, heart break and radiant wisdom. It took my breath away. For real.”
— V (formerly Eve Ensler), New York Times bestselling author of I Am an Emotional Creature, The Vagina Monologues and The Apology

"With a poet’s sharp eye for detail and a playwright’s grasp of both the tragic and the absurd, Sarah Ruhl has written a remarkable book. Smile is at once a gripping story and a profound exploration of the mysteries of illness. I know of nothing like it."
— James Shapiro, author of Shakespeare in a Divided America

"In this stunning work, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Ruhl reflects on her long and arduous battle with Bell’s palsy after giving birth to twins....As she recounts learning to find joy in small things—such as regaining the ability to blink—Ruhl proves that even life at its most mundane can be fascinating. This incredibly inspiring story offers hope where it’s least expected."
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)