Goodbye to All That (Revised Edition): Writers on Loving and Leaving New York

by Sari Botton (Editor)

Overview

From Roxane Gay to Leslie Jamison, thirty brilliant writers share their timeless stories about the everlasting magic—and occasional misery—of living in the Big Apple, in a new edition of the classic anthology.

In the revised edition of this classic collection, thirty writers share their own stories of loving and leaving New York, capturing the mesmerizing allure the city has always had for writers, poets, and wandering spirits. Their essays often begin as love stories do, with the passion of something newly discovered: the crush of subway crowds, the streets filled with manic energy, and the sudden, unblinking certainty that this is the only place on Earth where one can become exactly who she is meant to be.

They also share the grief that comes like a gut-punch, when the grand metropolis loses its magic and the pressures of New York's frenetic life wear thin for even the most dedicated dwellers. As friends move away, rents soar, and love—still—remains just out of reach, each writer's goodbye is singular and universal, just like New York itself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541675681
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	04/06/2021
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	160,973
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Sari Botton is the essays editor for Longreads. She teaches writing courses at Catapult and in Bay Path University's MFA program. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, the Village Voice, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, More, and the Rumpus, plus other publications and anthologies. She lives in Kingston, New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword to the Second Edition xiii

1 Homemaker Rosie Schaap 1

2 Strange Lands Roxane Gay 13

3 The Assistant's Loft Leslie Jamison 21

4 Home Melissa Febos 41

5 Transport Emily Carter Roiphe 51

6 Eleven True Things Ada Limón 65

7 Homecoming Mira Ptacin 73

8 Leaving My Groovy Lifestyle Cbloe Caldwell 81

9 Misfits Fit Here Marie Myung-Ok Lee 91

10 Manhattan, Always out of Reach Ann Hood 101

11 Fondly, Marie Lisa Ko 111

12 Russia, With Love Emily Gould 119

13 My City Dani Shapiro 127

14 Someday, Some Morning, Sometime Emma Straub 137

15 Brooklyn Summer Danielle A. Jackson 147

16 Losing New York Lauren Elkin 159

17 Currency Elisa Albert 171

18 A War Zone for Anyone Looking for Love Liza Monroy 185

19 Real Estate Sari Botton 195

20 Maybe I Loved You Marcy Dermansky 209

21 Long Trains Leaving Emily St. John Mandel 219

22 So Long, Suckers Rebecca Wolff 231

23 Crash and Burn Eva Tenuto 241

24 Heedless, Resilient, Gullible, and Stupid Janet Steen 253

25 Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye … HELLO Carolita Johnson 263

26 The Loosening Rayhané Sanders 273

27 You Are Here Hope Edelman 283

28 My Misspent Youth Meghan Daum 297

29 Minnesota Nice Cheryl Strayed 319

30 Shelter In Place Emily Raboteau 325

About the Contributors 335

Acknowledgments 343

About the Editor 345

Editorial Reviews

"Charming . . . New York's pull is evident throughout." —The New York Times

"From candid to kooky to classic, this collection sheds the love, light, and lyricism the gritty city deserves."—Susan Shapiro, author of Speed Shrinking and Five Men Who Broke My Heart

"Essential reading for anyone with a creative soul, an adventurous spirit, and a hint of masochism—aka a New Yorker.” —Jami Attenberg, author of The Middlesteins

From the Publisher