Describe Patchett's authorial tone. How does her voice guide the reader through the essay collection?

Throughout the collection, Patchett's authorial tone is consistently honest and open, interrogative and reflective. Patchett's language is clear and concise, thus granting the reader access to her complex series of essayistic forms. No matter the topic she is discussing, Patchett's tone remains steady and predictable. At the same time, she blends multiple tonal registers in each essay. A moment of vivid writerly observation will quickly beget an amusing self-deprecating aside. In other passages, a memory will beget a series of exclamations and questions. Therefore, Patchett's voice is at once conversational, familiar, and vulnerable. The reader feels that she is speaking or listening to Patchett, and can thus trust her voice as a navigational tool throughout the collection.

How is the collection structured? In what ways does this structure enact Patchett's thematic explorations?