Joyride - by Susan Orlean (Hardcover)

About the Book

"'The story of my life is the story of my stories,' writes Susan Orlean in this extraordinary, era-defining memoir from one of the greatest practitioners of narrative nonfiction of our time. Joyride is a magic carpet ride through Orlean's life and career, where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment holds the potential for wonder. Throughout her storied career, her curiosity draws her to explore the most ordinary and extraordinary of places, from going deep inside the head of a regular ten-year-old boy for a legendary profile ('The American Man Age Ten') to reporting on a woman who owns twenty-seven tigers, from capturing the routine magic of Saturday night to climbing Mt. Fuji. Not only does Orlean's account of a writing life offer a trove of indispensable gleanings for writers, it's also an essential and practical guide to embracing any creative path. She takes us through her process of dreaming up ideas, managing deadlines, connecting with sources, chasing every possible lead, confronting writer's block and self-doubt, and crafting the perfect lede -- a Susan specialty. While Orlean has always written her way into other people's lives in order to understand the human experience, Joyride is her most personal book ever -- a searching journey through finding her feet as a journalist, recovering from the excruciating collapse of her first marriage, falling head-over-heels in love again, becoming a mother while mourning the decline of her own mother, sojourning to Hollywood for films based on her work including Adaptation and Blue Crush, and confronting mortality. Joyride is also a time machine to a bygone era of journalism, from Orlean's bright start in the golden age of alt-weeklies to her career-making days working alongside icons such as Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, David Remnick, Anna Wintour, Sonny Mehta, and Jonathan Karp -- forces who shaped the media industry as we know it today. Infused with Orlean's signature warmth and wit, Joyride is a must-read for anyone who hungers to start, build, and sustain a creative life. Orlean inspires us to seek out daily inspiration and rediscover the marvels that surround us."

Book Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - "Brilliant...A high-spirited, exhilarating memoir." --The Wall Street Journal - "In Joyride, the takeaway often has as much to do with the art of living as the art of writing." --Elle - "Wise and exuberant...It's funny, as well. Just masterful." --David Sedaris - "Superbly good...Ebullient, frank, moving, and inspiring." --Booklist (starred review)

From Susan Orlean, the beloved New Yorker writer and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book who has been hailed as "a national treasure" by The Washington Post, comes a masterful memoir of finding her creative calling and purpose that invites us to approach life with wonder, curiosity, and an irrepressible sense of delight.

"The story of my life is the story of my stories," writes Susan Orlean in this extraordinary, era-defining memoir from one of the greatest practitioners of narrative nonfiction of our time. Joyride is a magic carpet ride through Orlean's life and career, where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment holds the potential for wonder. Throughout her storied career, her curiosity draws her to explore the most ordinary and extraordinary of places, from going deep inside the head of a regular ten-year-old boy for a legendary profile ("The American Man Age Ten") to reporting on a woman who owns twenty-seven tigers, from capturing the routine magic of Saturday night to climbing Mt. Fuji.

Not only does Orlean's account of a writing life offer a trove of indispensable gleanings for writers, it's also an essential and practical guide to embracing any creative path. She takes us through her process of dreaming up ideas, managing deadlines, connecting with sources, chasing every possible lead, confronting writer's block and self-doubt, and crafting the perfect lede--a Susan specialty.

While Orlean has always written her way into other people's lives in order to understand the human experience, Joyride is her most personal book ever--a searching journey through finding her feet as a journalist, recovering from the excruciating collapse of her first marriage, falling head-over-heels in love again, becoming a mother while mourning the decline of her own mother, sojourning to Hollywood for films based on her work including Adaptation and Blue Crush, and confronting mortality. Joyride is also a time machine to a bygone era of journalism, from Orlean's bright start in the golden age of alt-weeklies to her career-making days working alongside icons such as Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, David Remnick, Anna Wintour, Sonny Mehta, and Jonathan Karp--forces who shaped the media industry as we know it today.

Infused with Orlean's signature warmth and wit, Joyride is a must-read for anyone who hungers to start, build, and sustain a creative life. Orlean inspires us to seek out daily inspiration and rediscover the marvels that surround us.

Review Quotes

"Joyride might be the best craft book on writing you will ever read."
--Boston Globe

"A writer's guide, creative manifesto and intimate self-portrait."
--Los Angeles Magazine

"Joyride will speak to any reader with any inkling toward creativity, wonder, and craft."
--Harper's Bazaar

"A celebration of a supremely accomplished writing life . . . The great value of this book is the MFA in nonfiction writing that Orlean packs into it, full of some of the most useful advice on craft that any budding (or long-practicing, for that matter) writer could ask for. . . . A spry, entertaining memoir/writing workshop by a nonfiction artist at the top of her game."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"An ebullient, frank, moving, and inspiring memoir. . . Orlean is always superbly good literary company, and here she deepens the intimacy, welcoming readers into the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of an exemplary and empathetic writer."
--Booklist (starred review)

"An era-defining memoir . . . Joyride is a must-read for anyone who hungers to start, build, and sustain a creative life."
--The Everygirl

"Brilliant . . . A high-spirited, exhilarating memoir."
--Moira Hodgson, The Wall Street Journal

"In Joyride, the takeaway often has as much to do with the art of living as the art of writing. . . . It's Orlean's sense of mission that propels the reader along."
--Lauren Puckett-Pope, Elle

"Marked by incredible skill, preternatural intuition, and extraordinary fortune . . . Joyride reads not just like a memoir, but a snapshot of a media landscape of a particular time."
--Sky Davis, The Christian Science Monitor

"Readers will love it; writers will learn from it . . . Orlean's anecdotes sing with the pleasure of a person born to her passion and purpose."
--Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times

"For anyone who's asked--and haven't we all--'How does she write like that?, ' this wise and exuberant book is the answer. It's funny, as well. Just masterful."
--David Sedaris

About the Author

Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Library Book, Rin Tin Tin, Saturday Night, and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award-winning film Adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in Los Angeles and may be reached at SusanOrlean.com and on Substack at SusanOrlean.Substack.com.