ADULT BRACES
DRIVING MYSELF SANE
by Lindy West
In New York Times bestselling author Lindy West’s ambitious memoir, she brings readers along on an uproarious cross-country road trip as she unpacks her last few tumultuous years, rediscovers herself, and reinvents her marriage in the process.
Through Shrill—the book and then the Hulu series—Lindy West became an inspiration. To this day she is stopped on the street and hailed as a beacon of empowerment by women who felt badly for not conforming to a narrow set of societal norms—thin, straight, compliant. But behind the scenes, Lindy never felt like she was the self-actualized woman fans made her out to be. When she found herself in the throes of a deep depression, with her marriage and sense of self-worth hanging in the balance, she knew she needed to make a change.
In ADULT BRACES, Lindy shares the story of her rock bottom, and of the journey she took to claw her way out of it. With her trademark candor and sense of humor, she examines her post-Shrill emotional implosion, her shifting feelings about traditional marriage, and her search for her long-lost self. She also tracks the highs and lows of her journey, from eye-opening natural wonders and kitschy roadside attractions to lackluster tourist traps and campground epiphanies.
The result is an engaging and laugh-out-loud narrative of becoming as Lindy transforms from a passenger into the active navigator of her own life.
"West blends her signature sharp wit with endearing vulnerability in this luminous memoir. . . The result is a madcap, rewarding journey that demystifies the unsexy work of self-actualization."
-Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
"Amid the humor [in Adult Braces] are moments of great insight, many clearly born of keeping a careful eye out. . . A well-realized, candid memoir that reveals an unconventional approach to life."
-Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“West is best known for her humor and sharp wit, and Adult Braces has much of both, but it also offers a lovely, unexpected sweetness.”
-Book Page, STARRED REVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lindy West is the author of three books: the New York Times bestselling memoir Shrill as well as the essay collections The Witches Are Coming and Shit, Actually. Lindy is a former contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and her work has appeared in This American Life, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vulture, Jezebel, and others. She is the co-host of the comedy podcast Text Me Back and the author of the e-mail newsletter Butt News. Lindy was a writer and executive producer on Shrill, the Hulu comedy adapted from her memoir, and she co-wrote and produced the independent feature film Thin Skin. She lives on the Olympic Peninsula in rural Washington state.
Advance Praise for ADULT BRACES
"West blends her signature sharp wit with endearing vulnerability in this luminous memoir. . . The result is a madcap, rewarding journey that demystifies the unsexy work of self-actualization."
-Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW
"Amid the humor [in Adult Braces] are moments of great insight, many clearly born of keeping a careful eye out. . . A well-realized, candid memoir that reveals an unconventional approach to life."
-Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW
“West is best known for her humor and sharp wit, and Adult Braces has much of both, but it also offers a lovely, unexpected sweetness.”
-Book Page, STARRED REVIEW
"Lindy is doing the kind of naked self-examination that most people are too chickenshit to do even under the guidance of a trained therapist, and somehow also manages to make it hilarious? All killer, no filler."
-Samantha Irby, New York Times bestselling author of Quietly Hostile
“Lindy West’s funniest, fiercest, tenderest excavation yet—a road trip through rock bottom, revelation, and the wild relief of reimagining what a life can hold. Every chapter is a gut punch wrapped in a cackle. I didn’t read this book so much as inhale it, and by the end I felt braced, bolstered, cracked open, and stitched back together.”
-Suleika Jaouad, author of The Book of Alchemy and Between Two Kingdoms
"Lindy’s writing is so generous, I feel like she’s handing over her entire heart and inviting me to romp around in her ventricles. Nobody is funnier and nobody can describe their own foibles with more clarity. I’d shove this book into the hands of anyone else who could use a laugh on their way to learning to love themselves a little more."
-Lisa Hanawalt, creator of Tuca & Bertie
“A memoir more tender, hilarious, disarming, tear-inducing, complicated, human, and unf*ckwithably real than I expected. And this is Lindy West, so let’s be honest — I was expecting a lot.”
-Angela Garbes, bestselling author of Essential Labor
About Grand Central Publishing
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Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize and other major honors.
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