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I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home
I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home | Jami Attenberg
12 posts | 8 read | 16 to read
From New York Times bestselling author Jami Attenberg comes a dazzling memoir about unlocking and embracing her creativity--and how it saved her life. In this brilliant, fierce, and funny memoir of transformation, Jami Attenberg--described as a "master of modern fiction" (Entertainment Weekly) and the "poet laureate of difficult families" (Kirkus Reviews)--reveals the defining moments that pushed her to create a life, and voice, she could claim for herself. What does it take to devote oneself to art? What does it mean to own one's ideas? What does the world look like for a woman moving solo through it?As the daughter of a traveling salesman in the Midwest, Attenberg was drawn to a life on the road. Frustrated by quotidian jobs and hungry for inspiration and fresh experiences, her wanderlust led her across the country and eventually on travels around the globe. Through it all she grapples with questions of mortality, otherworldliness, and what we leave behind.It is during these adventures that she begins to reflect on the experiences of her youth--the trauma, the challenges, the risks she has taken. Driving across America by herself on self-funded book tours, sometimes crashing on couches when she was broke, she keeps writing: in researching articles for magazines, jotting down ideas for novels, and refining her craft, she grows as an artist and increasingly learns to trust her gut and, ultimately, herself.Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class, and drive, I Came All This Way to Meet You is an inspiring story of finding one's way home--emotionally, artistically, and physically--and an examination of art and individuality that will resonate with anyone determined to listen to their own creative calling.
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review
Cinfhen
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Pickpick

As a fan of Jamie‘s fiction writing I was looking forward to her first foray into NF. While this memoir didn‘t blow me away, I did enjoy many parts, especially since Jamie can really construct some gorgeous sentences. Written non-linear, Jamie jumps from different perspectives and events that helped shape her writing career. She shares her traumas, triumphs, travels and tangents. A pleasant listen but wanted a bit more.

britt_brooke A fair review! 🤍 Happy to see it was a “pick.” 2y
Cinfhen It worked for me on audio too @britt_brooke agree, print might have been a different story. I really think she‘s a great writer but I felt like she was holding back. I think her stream of consciousness was deliberate- a way of masking some of those bigger “plots” she wasn‘t fully able to share/explore. 2y
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Cinfhen
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I love Jamie‘s fiction so I‘m excited for her memoir although I have seen mixed reviews. I‘m going in optimistically 😍

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britt_brooke
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“A woman‘s appearance isn‘t as important as what she achieves with her brain and guts.”

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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I picked this up after hearing Attenberg read a passage at the Southern Festival of Books. This memoir, her first stab at nonfiction, is about becoming a woman, finding, and subsequently, loving herself, and finally figuring out this whole writing gig. Some might be turned off by the stream-of-consciousness nature, but I thought it worked well here.

Cinfhen I‘m a fan of Attenberg - so I‘ll be picking this up although I‘ve seen mixed reviews. Glad you enjoyed it. 2y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen When you do, let me know what you think! 2y
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britt_brooke
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Super fun panel with Isaac Fitzgerald (Dirtbag, Massachusetts), Maud Newton (Ancestor Trouble), and Jami Attenberg (tagged - her first memoir). #southernfestivalofbooks #nashville #nashvillepubliclibrary #memoirists

DanaManiac Oh cool! My husband and I shared a row with Jami on a recent flight. I didn‘t know of her before and now I see her name everywhere 😂 2y
britt_brooke @DanaManiac How funny! I‘ve read one of her novels, but just realized she has 7 or so. Here, she was discussing her first memoir. Planning to read it soon. She was very likable! 2y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen Here‘s the panel Isaac Fitzgerald was on. So fun! 2y
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Cinfhen What a GREAT panel!!! 2y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen It was awesome! I loved listening to Jami Attenberg talk about her memoir (which I‘m reading now). I also saw Rick Bragg, Patrick Radden Keefe, Mary Laura Philpott and Margaret Renkl speak that day. It was pretty incredible! 2y
Cinfhen Wow!!! Incredible group of writers and awesome humans 🙌🏻😍 2y
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Erynecki
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Pickpick

I picked up Attenberg‘s memoir because I‘m a big fan of a thousand words of summer. I was surprised to discover a section of one chapter on thanatourism, and the Jewish ghetto in Vilnius, and suddenly felt transported back to my own quest and chasing ghosts.
At its heart, this memoir chronicles her journey as a writer and her thoughts about the journey so far.

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Nikki_E
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Julsmarshall
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Mehso-so

This was okay, the #audiobook narrator may have negatively affected my experience-I found her pace and cadence both slow and annoying. I liked her writing and sense of place, but the backs and forth timelines kept taking me out of the story. #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 3y
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LeslieO
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1. The Accident by Chris Pavone
2. Both, since Covid restrictions have been lifted.
3. The tagged book. My hold came in so I will be picking up The Maid tomorrow.

#WeekendReads

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LeslieO
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My first nonfiction of the year.

“I am the daughter of a motherless mother.”
#FirstLineFridays

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Megabooks
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Panpan

This was a disappointment. I‘m a fan of Jami, but this was so disorganized that I only gleaned a piecemeal sense of her life. Lots of travel, lots of book panels, and occasional explanations of her family and writing process. Yeah, just didn‘t do it for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Xe Sands does a mediocre narration job. 👎🏻 (I usually like her, but this was a poor author/narrator match for me. I wonder why they decided against Jami narrating.)

Cinfhen I‘ve seen a few reviews that were 💯 in line with your review. Very disappointing 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen yeah, I‘d definitely say don‘t bother with this one. She should stick to fiction. 3y
britt_brooke I‘m listening to this now and enjoying it. The narrator sounds a lot like Jami Attenberg, so much I didn‘t realize it wasn‘t her. 🤦🏼‍♀️ But it is very stream of consciousness for a memoir which I definitely think will turn some readers off. 2y
Megabooks @britt_brooke I‘m glad you‘re enjoying it, but it definitely turned me off! 2y
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Megabooks
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So I might‘ve made three purchases too…

I was hoping my library would get the Jami Attenberg‘s memoir, but they didn‘t, so had to buy it. Tags on the two fiction books ⬇️

#NewReleaseTuesday

Megabooks I never read A Little Life but count me on the bandwagon for this! 3y
Megabooks This sounded interesting too. 3y
BarbaraBB You‘re probably the first to finish To Paradise! 3y
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Megabooks @BarbaraBB I think that will be @Cinfhen 😁 I have too many library books to get through first! 3y
Cinfhen Ohhhhh, you bit the bullet too!!!!! I can‘t wait to hear your thoughts on ALL 3 books!!!! The other 2 seem more my speed than your 3 NF from the library 😁😘 I‘m loving To Paradise @BarbaraBB but I think it‘s probably better in print!!!! And I can‘t wait for the Attenberg🙌🏻💓 (edited) 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I‘m super excited for all of them! Hopefully I‘ll get some good audiobook time in around the trip to Nashville! Dad and I are finishing my reread of this too. 3y
Cinfhen That‘s fun!! Road-trip with your dad 🥰 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen my favorite road trip buddy! 3y
70 likes8 comments