Joyride

'The story of my life is the story of my stories,' writes Susan Orlean in this extraordinary, era-defining memoir from one of the greatest practitioners of narrative nonfiction of our time.

While Orlean has always written her way into other people's lives in order to understand the human experience, Joyride is her most personal book ever - a searching journey through finding her feet as a journalist, recovering from the excruciating collapse of her first marriage, falling head-over-heels in love again, becoming a parent while mourning the decline of her own mother, sojourning to Hollywood for films based on her work including Adaptation and Blue Crush, and confronting mortality. Joyride is also a time machine to a bygone era of journalism, from Orlean's bright start in the golden age of alt-weeklies to her career-making days working alongside icons such as Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, David Remnick, Anna Wintour and Sonny Mehta - forces who shaped the media industry as we know it today.

Infused with Orlean's signature warmth and wit, Joyride is a must-read for anyone who hungers to start, build and sustain a creative life.

A spry, entertaining memoir/writing workshop by a nonfiction artist at the top of her game Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Enthralling and inspirational...[a] fine and heartfelt saga Observer on THE LIBRARY BOOK
Orlean, a longtime New Yorker writer, has been captivating us with human stories for decades, and her latest book is a wide-ranging, deeply personal and terrifically engaging investigation Washington Post on THE LIBRARY BOOK
An exemplary work of creative non-fiction... I can't recommend this book highly enough Scotland on Sunday on THE LIBRARY BOOK
Susan Orlean has long been one of our finest storytellers -- David Grann

Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Library Book, Rin Tin Tin, Saturday Night and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award-winning film Adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in Los Angeles and may be reached at SusanOrlean.com and on Substack.

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