The host: Now it's time for our You Must Read This program. Today we'll hear from Lauren Groff. She came across a book when she was going to have her first child and was worried about the future. 

Lauren Groff: Staring into darkness, I wanted to read about happiness.1n fact, books full of joy are hard to find because happiness is nearly impossible to write about. So, when I found Elizabeth and Her German Garden, by Elizabeth Von Arnim, I felt as if someone suddenly opened a curtain and revealed a window where I had thought there was a wall. 

Elizabeth and Her German Garden feels as if it rose out of Von Arnim's deep unhappiness in the way she was supposed to fit into her world Still, what a cool drink this novel is. It has a few characters: the narrator, a countess named Elizabeth, her husband, her three tiny daughters, various servants and some visitors. There is also Elizabeth's garden. whick we see in all its seasonal richness. 

That is only the book's surface, however. There are great things hidden in the book. Eliza- beth is always comparing herself and the women around her and finding their fixed social roles disappointing. Her happiness, when it comes, arrives as an act of will. She has fought hard to achieve delight and I think it is more valuable for her struggle. 

I appreciate Elizabeth for showing me a way through my darkest time, by revealing that an act of focused attention can lift a person out of a long, dark period in their lives. Anyone can get a little happiness from living, even by reading a few pages of a book. 

The host : That's Lauren Groff. Her latest novel is Arcadia. The book she recommended is Elizabeth and Her German Garden.
Which book did Lauren Groff find? And what book is her latest novel> In the book shoe found who are the main characters? Did Elizabeth have to work to find joy? How does Lauren Groff characterize her effort? Why are books about happiness scarce? Who wrote Elizabeth and her German Garden? When did Lauren Groff find that book? What was she worried about then? Was von Amim happy when she wrote it?
Elizabeth and Her German Garden Arcadia Elizabeth, her husband, her three tiny daughters, various servants and some visitors Yes She appreciates her effort unknown Elizabeth Von Arnim When pregnant with first child the future no