I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home

By Jami Attenberg

'I was so captivated by this book, so utterly drawn in and overwhelmed by the emotional force of it, that it stayed in my bloodstream, it felt, long after I'd finished it.' Nigella Lawson

'Sharp and engrossing' Roxane Gay

As the bookish daughter of a travelling salesman, Jami Attenberg was drawn to the road. Her wanderlust led her to drive solo across America, and eventually on travels around the globe, embracing - for better and worse - all the messy life she encountered along the way. As she travelled she was crafting, grafting and honing her work, piecing together a living and career, and wrestling with a deep longing for independence while also searching for community, and eventually, a place she might want to stay in for good.

This remarkable memoir reveals the defining moments that pushed her to create a life, and voice, she could claim for herself. Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class and drive, I Came All This Way to Meet You is an inspiring and singular story of living the creative life, and finding one's way home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Release date: Jan 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781782839514

Jami Attenberg

Jami Attenberg is a New York Times bestselling author of seven books of fiction, including The Middlesteins and All Grown Up; a memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You; and, most recently, 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. She is the founder of the annual #1000WordsofSummer project, and maintains the popular Craft Talk newsletter year-round. Her work has been published in sixteen languages. She lives in New Orleans.

Reviews for I Came All This Way to Meet You

[suesbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This writing style including much repetition may have helped the author come to terms with who she has become, but I found it tedious and narcissicistic. I did not care for many of the events the first time they were mentioned, so there was no need for me to read about them numerous times. I do wish the author the best and hope she is able to sustain meaningful relationships. I am also thankful that her family is so supportive of her. I am pleased that she is able to support herself by following her passion, and maybe her writing will help others.

[banjo123 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

had been eager to read Jami Attenburg's I Came All This Way to Meet You. I really liked her novel The Middlesteins; which I thought was a hilarious depiction of life in a Jewish suburb of Chicago. There are some good parts in her memoir, and I was really touched by the chapter where she talks to her father about his career as a salesman. However, overall, I would urge readers to stick to her novels.

[narshkite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

No time for a lengthy review, but this is a lovely little travelogue through the life of a writer. That certain kind of writer, literary, well thought-of, but not the type who sells tons of books. Attenberg's prose is wonderful but I always hate her characters (unrealistic, almost cartoonishly overblown, frequently irksome) so I have not enjoyed her novels. For the record, it is not that I do not understand her characters -- Attenberg and I are both Jewish women from suburban towns adjacent to Midwestern cities, we both felt the pull of New York, travel widely, love good food and good liquor and good men, have lived part of our adult lives in the South, and value our friendships deeply. I understand her. I just don't think she understands typical non-artsy people and her character development suffers as a result. She makes normal people into vacant people or ridiculous quirky people. People I don't know at all. I like this book though. Attenberg understands herself even if she doesn't get others, and for this book that is all she needs to understand. The book is quiet and thoughtful and it pulled me in. If you enjoy books about writers' genesis and about the artistic spirit, I think you will like this.

[ibkennedy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of the few books I will read again. I like that I find myself looking up from my reading and thinking of something that Jami has reminded me of. I almost never keep something the author writes in a separate note book to read again. I did that twice. Interesting. I think, this is what a good book should do to me.