Stephanie Nesja
Author and humorist Michael Perry is back, and this time he’s asking readers to persist in “connecting even if we never meet…” The New York Times bestselling author of Population: 485, The Jesus Cow, and Roughneck Grace gives us another glimpse of what it’s like living in small-town rural Wisconsin via Peaceful Persistence. Originally published in the Wisconsin State Journal between April 2018 and March 2020, this new collection presents a variety of brief essays, all of which offer anecdotes to readers of all kinds.
“From Perry’s Aesop-like morality tales on gratitude, family, farming, and fireflies, Perry proves, once more, that there is something to be gleaned in everyday moments, no matter how small. ”
Leading with his heart, Perry writes to connect to his readers. The essays in this collection “were composed during a time of personal and national unease, and often reflect that mood, but just as often veer into humor and hope.” Humor and hope, indeed. From Perry’s Aesop-like morality tales on gratitude, family, farming, and fireflies, Perry proves, once more, that there is something to be gleaned in everyday moments, no matter how small.
The author offers insight for his readers by way of lessons he teaches throughout the themes of his two-page essays. Perry, an everyday guy, connects to his readers while trying to enjoy life amid a difficult national backdrop. His desire to share these moments allow not only for solace and significance to be found in his words, but also hope.
If there’s one touchstone throughout the collection, it revolves around hope. In “Window Robin,” Perry teaches his readers the importance of persistence as he watches a robin diligently peck for worms in the softening ground. When Perry’s daughter is missing her mom in “Sunday Night Sads,” he reminds us that even in the smallest moments of grief, the stars will still rise, and tomorrow is a new day. In “Dad Suit,” Perry reflects on the joy of family values while trying on suits—a task he doesn’t enjoy. And in “Crowdsourced Truck Repair” we learn the importance of coming together, even virtually, through discussing the how-tos of repairing a truck. It’s clear Perry values many things in addition to the aforementioned, like traditions, friends, neighbors, nature, music, road trips, farm-fresh eggs, gardening, garlic, asparagus, hard work, relaxation, and the philosophy of Michel de Montaigne.
While Perry’s down-to-earth scenes do much to hook the reader, it’s his poetic style that keeps readers fully engaged through vivid imagery, alliteration, and bountiful descriptions of various kinds amalgamated with a rich vocabulary, learned from his days of voluntarily reading the dictionary as a child, which will hopefully expand the reader’s own expressions.
In his final essay, “Healing Day,” Perry offers advice as a nod to Bill Fay’s song of the same name. “Peaceful persistence,” he writes, “is its own reward. It isn’t a matter of winning, it is a matter of dignity. Be at peace with yourself.” It’s clear that above all, the author’s main value for his readers is to have hope.