Study in Perfect is an exploration of perfection. In “Moving Horizontal” a Victorian house loses its charm over time, especially when compared to a modernist contemporary filled with light. Family life is dense with pleasure, as in the perfect vacation described in “Marking Time in Door County,” and in “Neriage, or What Is the Secret of a Long Marriage,” where an ancient Japanese ceramic technique has much in common with shaping a close relationship. There is such a thing as a per...

Bernard Cooper's new memoir is searing, soulful, and filled with uncommon psychological nuance and laugh-out-loud humor. Like Tobias Wolff's This Boy's Life, Cooper's account of growing up and coming to terms with a bewildering father is a triumph of contemporary autobiography.Edward Cooper is a hard man to know.Dour and exuberant by turns, his moods dictate the always uncertain climate of the Cooper household. Balding, octogenarian, and partial to a polyester jumpsuit, Ed...

A wry and beautifully observed memoir about coming of age in the era of conceptual art.Growing up in the suburbs—confused about his sexuality, about his consumer-oriented world, about the death of his older brother—Bernard Cooper falls in love with Pop art and sets off for the California Institute of the Arts, the center of the burgeoning field of conceptual art, in this beguiling memoir. The most famous, and infamous, artists of the time drift through the place, i...

From the bestselling author of ‘The Binding Chair’, this dazzling follow-up to her memoir ‘the Kiss’ explores the bonds of motherhood between four generations.When Kathryn Harrison was a little girl, her young mother left her in the care of her British grandmother who was raised in Shanghai. To Kathryn, her mother's mother seemed an almost unimaginably powerful figure: an imperious arbiter of good taste and a master storyteller, who, when coaxed, might reveal stories of a magic and...

"The best memoir I have ever read. It's sad, terrifying, and scorchingly honest . . . This book is a punch to the heart. Read it." —Stephen KingA Los Angeles Times Favorite Nonfiction Book of the YearA Washington Post Book World Best Book of the YearWhen Abigail Thomas's husband, Rich, was hit by a car, his brain shattered. Sub...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Suspense, humor and plenty of heart . . . spooky and satisfying.”—PeopleMichelina Bellsong is on a mission. She is following a missing family to the edge of America . . . to a place she never knew existed—a place of terror, wonder, and shattering revelation. What awaits her there will change her life and the life of everyone she knows—if she can find the key to survival. At stake are a young girl of extraordinary go...

Combining the soul-baring insight of Wild, the profound wisdom of Shop Class as Soulcraft, and the adventurous spirit of Eat, Pray, Love: Lynn Darling’s powerful, lyrical memoir of self-discovery, full of warmth and wry humor, Out of the Woods.When her college-bound daughter leaves home, Lynn Darling, widowed over a decade earlier, finds herself alone—and utterly lost, with no idea of what she wants or even who she is. Searching for answers, she leaves New York for the solitary woo...

From a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, a ferociously intimate story of a family facing the ultimate question: how far will we go to save the people we love the most?When Margaret's fiancée, John, is hospitalized for depression in 1960s London, she faces a choice: carry on with their plans despite what she now knows of his condition, or back away from the suffering it may bring her. She decides to marry him.Imagine Me Gone is the un...

**NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, PEOPLE, AND O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINEA NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS’ TOP BOOK OF THE YEARNATIONAL BESTSELLER“As good as The Friend, if not better.” —The New York Times“Impossible to put down . . . leavened with wit and tenderness.” —People“I was dazed by the novel’s grace.”** —**The New YorkerThe New York Times–bestselling, National Book Award...

In the art world, law enforcement is often portrayed as an abusive institution. However, the writing of peace officer Corbet Dean has deeply affected many of the experts:"Corbet transcends stereotypes, shifts paradigms, and genuinely reaches. Him and faith, they've got the same hunger-punch."-Buddy Wakefield, Individual World Poetry Champion"Corbet Dean is an example of slam's original intention: to give a voice to people from all walks of life, and ...

From memoir to journalism, personal essays to cultural criticism, this indispensable anthology brings together works from all genres of creative nonfiction, with pieces by fifty contemporary writers including Cheryl Strayed, David Sedaris, Barbara Kingsolver, and more.Selected by five hundred writers, English professors, and creative writing teachers from across the country, this collection includes only the most highly regarded nonfiction work published since 1970...

Named a Top Ten Best Book of the Year by Time and PeopleNamed a Best Book of the Year by: Washington Post * Kirkus Reviews * New Yorker * Chicago Public Library * NPR * Oprah Daily * Philadelphia EnquirerA taut, groundbreaking, and highly acclaimed novel from bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken, about a writer’s relationship with her larger-than-life mother—a...