Staff Pick
It sounds too good to be true: a healer who can fix everything that’s wrong with you in just three days. But for Sam — a young writer struggling with intimacy, sobriety, physical health, and an unforgiving inner monologue — it’s an intriguing prospect. Broken People drew me in so completely I didn’t realize until Sam emerged from his three-day journey, changed, that something within me had shifted as well. This is a candid, deeply human novel that renders self-loathing accurately and — somehow — beautifully. Recommended By Tove H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
"Profound and affecting."--Chloe Benjamin A groundbreaking, incandescent debut novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves, for fans of Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanagihara and Garth Greenwell
"He fixes everything that's wrong with you in three days."
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform "open-soul surgery" on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He's desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman--who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine--seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he's summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam's memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction--a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.
Synopsis
An O, The Oprah Magazine "LGBTQ Book That Will Change the Literary Landscape in 2020" "Profound and affecting."--Chloe Benjamin
"Broken People leads us through the winds of time and memory to offer a riveting portrait of transformation. I am better for having read it."--Jamie Lee Curtis
A groundbreaking, incandescent debut novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves, for fans of Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanagihara and Garth Greenwell
"He fixes everything that's wrong with you in three days."
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform "open-soul surgery" on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He's desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman--who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine--seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he's summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam's memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction--a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.
Synopsis
Named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Library Journal, Harper's Bazaar and more "Profound and affecting."--Chloe Benjamin
"Broken People leads us through the winds of time and memory to offer a riveting portrait of transformation. I am better for having read it."--Jamie Lee Curtis
A groundbreaking, incandescent debut novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves, for fans of Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanagihara and Garth Greenwell
"He fixes everything that's wrong with you in three days."
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform "open-soul surgery" on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He's desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman--who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine--seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he's summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam's memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction--a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.
Synopsis
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Library Journal, Harper's Bazaar and more
"Profound and affecting."--Chloe Benjamin
"Broken People leads us through the winds of time and memory to offer a riveting portrait of transformation. I am better for having read it."--Jamie Lee Curtis
A groundbreaking, incandescent debut novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves, for fans of Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanagihara and Garth Greenwell
"He fixes everything that's wrong with you in three days."
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform "open-soul surgery" on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He's desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman--who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine--seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he's summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam's memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction--a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.
Synopsis
*A Kaia Gerber Book Club Pick*
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Library Journal, Harper's Bazaar and more
"Profound and affecting."--Chloe Benjamin
"Broken People leads us through the winds of time and memory to offer a riveting portrait of transformation. I am better for having read it."--Jamie Lee Curtis
A groundbreaking, incandescent debut novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves, for fans of Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanagihara and Garth Greenwell
"He fixes everything that's wrong with you in three days."
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform "open-soul surgery" on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He's desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman--who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine--seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he's summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam's memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction--a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.
Synopsis
"Sam Lansky has such a wondrous way with words."--Taylor Swift
*A Kaia Gerber Book Club Pick*
ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR
Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Library Journal, Harper's Bazaar and more
"Profound and affecting."--Chloe Benjamin
A groundbreaking, incandescent debut novel about coming to grips with the past and ourselves, for fans of Sally Rooney, Hanya Yanagihara and Garth Greenwell
"He fixes everything that's wrong with you in three days."
This is what hooks Sam when he first overhears it at a fancy dinner party in the Hollywood hills: the story of a globe-trotting shaman who claims to perform "open-soul surgery" on emotionally damaged people. For neurotic, depressed Sam, new to Los Angeles after his life in New York imploded, the possibility of total transformation is utterly tantalizing. He's desperate for something to believe in, and the shaman--who promises ancient rituals, plant medicine and encounters with the divine--seems convincing, enough for Sam to sign up for a weekend under his care.
But are the great spirits the shaman says he's summoning real at all? Or are the ghosts in Sam's memory more powerful than any magic?
At turns tender and acid, funny and wise, Broken People is a journey into the nature of truth and fiction--a story of discovering hope amid cynicism, intimacy within chaos and peace in our own skin.