The Order of Things

A Memoir About Chasing Joy

“A beautifully written testament to doing the hard work of changing your circumstances and opening your heart to a more meaningful life filled with hope and love. . . . Gormley’s a towering talent and a writer to watch!” —Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group and B.F.F.

Sometimes nothing is more unexpected than joy.

What happens when a marketing executive leaves San Francisco to care for her dying mother on their family farm in Ohio? A Hallmark heroine would fall in love with her high school sweetheart during a snowstorm—but this is no Hallmark movie. Sarah Gormley spent most of her life trying to outrun the persistent self-loathing that plagued her from childhood, convinced that self-worth was something she had to earn by doing rather than being. When she returned to Salt Creek Farm at age forty-five, Gormley had no idea that detaching from the success she believed defined her, untangling the complicated relationship with her mother, and continuing the hard work of therapy would lead to a wildly transformed life. Told with exceptional candor and humor, The Order of Things is a story about how one woman learned to let go of the patterns of her past to create a future she never imagined. Ultimately, Gormley’s book is about hope, with a powerful message that will inspire you to think about the possibility of change in your own life.