The Misfits Manifesto

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Brilliant writer Lidia Yuknavitch brings us a powerful field guide to living the life of the misfit — proudly. Based on her wildly popular 2016 TED talk, The Misfit’s Manifesto is searingly frank, funny, and intensely inspiring. A potent call to arms for misfits everywhere. Recommended By Gigi L., Powells.com

A self-defined misfit makes a powerful case for not fitting in — for recognizing the beauty, and difficulty, in forging an original path.

A misfit is a person who missed fitting in, a person who fits in badly, or this: a person who is poorly adapted to new situations and environments. It’s a shameful word, a word no one typically tries to own. Until now.

Lidia Yuknavitch is a proud misfit. That wasn’t always the case. It took Lidia a long time to not simply accept, but appreciate, her misfit status. Having flunked out of college twice (and maybe even a third time that she’s not going to tell you about), with two epic divorces under her belt, an episode of rehab for drug use, and two stints in jail, she felt like she would never fit in. She was a hopeless misfit. She’d failed as daughter, wife, mother, scholar—and yet the dream of being a writer was stuck like “a small sad stone” in her throat.

The feeling of not fitting in is universal. The Misfit’s Manifesto is for misfits around the world — the rebels, the eccentrics, the oddballs, and anyone who has ever felt like she was messing up. It’s Lidia’s love letter to all those who can’t ever seem to find the "right" path. She won’t tell you how to stop being a misfit — quite the opposite. In her charming, poetic, funny, and frank style, Lidia will reveal why being a misfit is not something to overcome, but something to embrace. Lidia also encourages her fellow misfits not to be afraid of pursuing goals, how to stand up, how to ask for the things they want most. Misfits belong in the room, too, she reminds us, even if their path to that room is bumpy and winding. An important idea that transcends all cultures and countries, this book has created a brave and compassionate community for misfits, a place where everyone can belong.

"Hold your breath, steady your stance, and dive into The Misfit’s Manifesto, an immersive, stunning splash of poetic rage. More investigative memoir than manifesto, this small book roars in Yuknavitch's big voice, demanding compassion, justice, and love for those who, like the author, choose (or are forced) to take the long view only visible from society's margins." Meredith Maran, The New Old Me

"The antidote to feeling alienated is to find one's tribe and stand together. Lidia Yuknavitch defines and offers a shared space for everyone ever labeled 'oddball,' 'weirdo' or 'freak.' Hard-earned sparks of wisdom spring off every page. A love letter to non-conformity, this book is going to change lives." Hope Edelman, New York Times bestselling author of Motherless Daughters

"A beautifully written field guide to being weird." Kirkus

Lidia Yuknavitch is the national bestselling author of the novels The Small Backs of Children, Dora: A Headcase, and the memoir The Chronology of Water. Her acclaimed TED Talk "The Beauty of Being a Misfit" has over 1.5 million views. She is the recipient of the Oregon Book Award, the Ken Kesey Fiction Award, and was a finalist for the 2012 Pen Center Creative Nonfiction Award. She writes, teaches, and lives in Portland, Oregon.

Lidia Yuknavitch is an exceptionally talented writer who reveals the most deeply hidden, secret parts within people. Her 2011 memoir, The Chronology of Water, was met with acclaim, winning several awards and gaining her a loyal fan base with its undeniable bravery and resonant use of language...

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