The Crane Wife

Outstanding … An elegant masterpiece … Wry but also warm and generous – Roxane GayThoughtful and fitfully funny … Across 17 confessional essays, we find [CJ] furtively spreading her grandparents’ ashes at their old house in Martha’s Vineyard, contemplating breast reduction surgery and reflecting on her relationships with a high-school boyfriend and a divorcee who is clearly still in love with his ex * Guardian, Best Memoirs of 2022 *Brilliant and beautiful … An absolute must-read – Frances Cha, author of IF I HAD YOUR FACEHauser is refreshingly candid and self-aware. They’re unafraid to get into the hard stuff-and it’s that vulnerability that makes their writing so accessible. Simultaneously clever, heartfelt, and wrenching, The Crane Wife underlines the messy relationship we all have with love * TIME, 100 Must-Read Books of 2022 *Bold and brilliant and psychologically exquisite, CJ Hauser is a deeply gifted and generous writer. THE CRANE WIFE is enthralling – Charlotte Fox Weber, author of WHAT WE WANTSometimes a viral essay is just a viral essay. Other times, as with Hauser’s story of breaking off her engagement (written for The Paris Review), a piece that spoke to millions will lead to something bigger - in this case, an absorbing memoir in essays * New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Pick *Funny and tender * Sun *After reading this memoir-in-essays by the warm, wise, wry, and wonderful CJ Hauser, author of the viral Paris Review essay “The Crane Wife,” you’ll have to go fix your face. Were you crying laughing or just crying? Both? Splash some cold water on your cheeks. That’s it. Now, go forth in peace with a new understanding of what it means to live and love * Garden & Gun, Best Southern Books of 2022 *A deeply personal and vivacious memoir … eye-wateringly funny … [and] intensely introspective as she focuses on what she is looking for and what she feels is missing * Irish Examiner *Stunning and interrogative… Brilliant… Calling Hauser ‘honest’ and ‘vulnerable’ feels inadequate. She embraces and even celebrates her flaws, and she revels in being a provocateur… Much has been written on the themes Hauser excavates here, yet her perspective is singular, startlingly so. Many narratives still position finding the perfect match as a measure of whether we’ve led successful lives. The Crane Wife dispenses with that. For that reason, Hauser’s worldview feels fresh and even radical * Oprah Daily *

CJ HAUSER teaches creative writing at Colgate University and lives in Hamilton, NY. They received their MFA from Brooklyn College and PhD from Florida State. They have published two novels, Family of Origin and The From-Aways. In 2019 they published a viral essay, “The Crane Wife,” in the Paris Review, about their decision to call off their wedding and go on an expedition to study the whooping crane. The essay reached over a million readers and was recommended online by the likes of Roxane Gay, Busy Phillips and Caitlin Moran. The Crane Wife- A Memoir in Essays is their first work of full-length non-fiction.