Synopses & Reviews
Like Jack Kerouacand#8217;s intrepid little sister, Ariel Gore spins the spirited story of a vulnerable drifter who takes refuge in the recesses of the human heart. With just a few pennies and her I Ching, a change of clothes and a one-way ticket to Hong Kong, a perceptive, searching Gore makes her way through the labyrinthine customs of Cold-War China, wanders bustling, electric Katmandu, and hunkers down in an icy London squat with a prostitute and a boyfriend on the dole. Yet it is in the calm, verdant landscape of rural Italy where, pregnant and penniless, nineteen-year-old Goreand#8217;s adventure truly begins. An illuminating glimpse into the boldly political Goreand#151;creator of HipMama.com and Hip Mama magazineand#151;this unflinching memoir offers a poignant exploration of the meaning of home, and surveys the frontiers of both land and heart.
Review
"A terrific and important book. Ariel Gore rips through the cultural wasteland of the 1980s with fierce desire and female angst, taking us on a wild ride. Impossible to put down." Corin Tucker, singer/guitarist, Sleater-Kinney
Review
"Ariel Gore packed more living into her teenage years than most people manage to in a lifetime. I am so grateful to have been taken along on her long strange trip, a journey that traverses the tunnels and streets of the human heart as well as the planet. This is a book of rare honesty and power, a book that holds faith in poetry and fate, a book that pulses with true lifeblood." Gayle Brandeis, author of Fruitflesh and The Book of Dead Birds
Review
"Ariel Gore has crafted an incredible adolescent adventure story, casting herself as the pure-hearted, confused and wandering hero. A fascinating, sad and funny, exciting and beautifully written story, Gore doesn't just run away from home, she runs away from America." Michelle Tea, author of Valencia and The Chelsea Whistle
Review
"An escape from a boring adolescence becomes a journey of enlightenment, and, by the end, my heart was as aching sore as my feet would have been had it been my own journey. Indeed, I feel like it was. A beautiful book about navigating the landscape of human awareness at the end of the century. It tells the story of a time out of time, when the children of the world were wandering the planet like so many lost dreams trying to wake up and find a little sunshine and coffee waiting for them." Joanna Rose, author of Little Miss Strange
Synopsis
An illuminating glimpse into the boldly political Ariel Gore creator of
HipMama.com and
Hip Mama magazine this unflinching memoir offers a poignant exploration of the meaning of home, and surveys the frontiers of both land and heart.
Like Jack Kerouac's intrepid little sister, Gore spins the spirited story of a vulnerable drifter who takes refuge in fate and the shadowy recesses of a string of glittering, broken relationships. With just a few pennies and her I Ching, a change of clothes and a one-way ticket to Hong Kong, a perceptive, searching sixteen-year-old Gore makes her way from the sterile suffocation of Silicon Valley through the labyrinthine customs of Cold-War China. Yet it is the calm, verdant landscape of rural Italy where, pregnant and penniless, nineteen-year-old Gore's adventures truly begin.
Exclusive Essay
Read an exclusive essay by Ariel Gore