While vacationing in New Hampshire and not feeling "quietly desperate," I read Olive Kittridge by Elizabeth Strout which takes place in the neighboring state of Maine. In a series of interlocking stories, Strout portrays the lives of both the title character, a sharp-tongued but deeply caring schoolteacher and people she knows who live in the small coastal town. Strout touches on many themes: depression, suicide, resentment and grief, all with penetrating insight and humor. I grew to care about these hard-edged, private and passionate people as much as Strout must have in writing about them.