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Start giftingHow to Be a Person in the World
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Learn more*A New York Times Love and Relationships bestseller*
For readers of Cheryl Strayed and Anne Lamott, a collection of brand new, impassioned, and inspiring letters by the author of the beloved advice column Ask Polly, featured weekly on New York Magazine's The Cut
Should you quit your day job to follow your dreams? How do you rein in an overbearing mother? Will you ever stop dating wishy-washy, noncommittal guys? Should you put off having a baby for your career?
Heather Havrilesky, the author of the weekly advice column Ask Polly, featured in New York magazine’s The Cut, is here to guide you through the “what if’s” and “I don’t knows” of modern life with the signature wisdom and tough love her readers have come to expect.
How to Be a Person in the World is a collection of never-before-published material along with a few fan favorites. Whether she’s responding to cheaters or loners, lovers or haters, the depressed or the down-and-out, Havrilesky writes with equal parts grace, humor, and compassion to remind you that even in your darkest moments you’re not alone.
HEATHER HAVRILESKY is the author of the memoir Disaster Preparedness. She has written for New York magazine, The New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Magazine, Bookforum, The New Yorker, NPR's All Things Considered, and several anthologies. She was a TV critic at Salon for seven years. She lives in Los Angeles with a loud assortment of dependents, most of them nondeductible.
HEATHER HAVRILESKY is the author of the memoir Disaster Preparedness. She has written for New York magazine, The New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Magazine, Bookforum, The New Yorker, NPR's All Things Considered, and several anthologies. She was a TV critic at Salon for seven years. She lives in Los Angeles with a loud assortment of dependents, most of them nondeductible.
Reviews
*Esquire Best Books of 2016**Harper’s Bazaar Editors Favorite Books of 2016*
*PopSugar Best Books of 2016*
*Nylon Best Books of 2016*
"A genuinely humorous and compelling voice...Havrilesky's writerly energy and passion confirm that the exchange of best friend wisdom -- a domain that has always been considered 'female,' and therefore trivial -- can be elevated into art."
—Jessi Klein, New York Times Book Review
"[Havrilesky] is part Buddha and part Amy Schumer: wise, whip-smart, and profanely funny."
—Entertainment Weekly
"The best advice columnist of her generation"
—Esquire
“The title of Heather Havrilesky's How to Be a Person in the World is almost too cute.... Like: do we really need a guide to that, and is that really what this is? But it turns out the answers are yes, actually, and yes.”
—Chicago Tribune
“There’s something nourishing in every column… But sometimes she writes things that are like opening up the fridge and finding the universe inside.”
—The Atlantic
"What I love so much about Heather Havrilesky and her new book is that, beside being her usual brilliant, hilarious, equally kick-ass and compassionate self, she actually gives great advice. How to be a Person in the World will change your life, for the way better."
—Anne Lamott, New York Times bestselling author of Small Victories
“A large-hearted reminder that all of us are struggling, and none of us are alone.”
—Kate Bolick, author of the national bestseller Spinster
“Heather Havrilesky’s advice leaves me laughing, nodding in recognition, pumping my fist with excitement, and furiously underlining passages to capture the wisdom that drops out of her mouth.... This is more than an advice book — it’s a life raft."
—Sarah Hepola, New York Times bestselling author of Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget
“True to its title, this collection touches on nearly every facet of living, and Havrilesky’s wit, intelligence, and candor set her apart as perhaps the best advice columnist currently in circulation.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Funny, frank advice for people searching for solutions to a myriad of relationship issues."
—Kirkus Review
“Readers allergic to classic self-help will adoreHavrilesky’s empowering, grounding, and utterly sincere message delivered in a lovingly unsparing,perfectly profane tone.”
—Booklist (Starred Review)
“In moments of despair, Havrilesky's elegant writing and rock-solid judgment can change your entire outlook. Read How to Be a Person in the World for the advice, but stay for the pure magic that is her perceptiveness and prose.”
—Paper Magazine
"Saying that Havrilesky has a way with words is like saying Marilyn Monroe liked diamonds. Havrilesky doesn’t just write—she dances with the words, building empathetic responses that can’t be classified as just advice columns. They are more keen observations of human behavior."
—BookPage
“[Havrilesky is] an alluringly wry cheerleader, an enthusiastic volunteer offering sports drinks as we struggle past during the half-marathon of life.”
—Slate Book Review
“She is not only an excellent writer and cultural critic, but the best possible agony aunt for people who don’t care for agony aunts.... And she has an exceptional ability to hit the nail on the head and fundamentally understand people.”
—The Guardian
“Heather Havrilesky… is both the first and last person you'd seek out for guidance. On one hand, she'll shake you by the shoulders and tell you the truth. On the other, she's the friend rooting you on, cursing (creatively) all the way… Havrilesky abandons the prim and proper and instead delivers delightfully offbeat wisdom with a side of straight talk.”
—NPR
"Heather Havrilesky, who if there's any justice in this unforgiving universe should become the first person to win both a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize for an advice column"
—Stuff Nation (New Zealand) Expand reviews