Synopses & Reviews
New York Times bestselling author of Labor DayWith a New Preface
When it was first published in 1998, At Home in the World set off a furor in the literary world and beyond. Joyce Maynards memoir broke a silence concerning her relationship—at age eighteen—with J.D. Salinger, the famously reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye, then age fifty-three, who had read a story she wrote for The New York Times in her freshman year of college and sent her a letter that changed her life. Reviewers called her book “shameless” and “powerful” and its author was simultaneously reviled and cheered.
With what some have viewed as shocking honesty, Maynard explores her coming of age in an alcoholic family, her mothers dream to mold her into a writer, her self-imposed exile from the world of her peers when she left Yale to live with Salinger, and her struggle to reclaim her sense of self in the crushing aftermath of his dismissal of her not long after her nineteenth birthday. A quarter of a century later—having become a writer, survived the end of her marriage and the deaths of her parents, and with an eighteen-year-old daughter of her own—Maynard pays a visit to the man who broke her heart. The story she tells—of the girl she was and the woman she became—is at once devastating, inspiring, and triumphant.
Review
“Unsparing self-scrutiny...maturity and emotional candor.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
“Absorbing, funny, and emotionally blistering.”—Jules Siegel, San Francisco Chronicle
“A wry, painful, engaging book.”—Frank McCourt, author of Angelas Ashes
“Maynards testimony is priceless.”—Mary Cantwell, Vogue
“Riveting and disturbing.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Even Salinger loyalists may feel compelled to reexamine their idol.”—Glamour
“Dazzling.”—San Francisco Chronicle
Review
“Unsparing self-scrutiny...maturity and emotional candor.”—Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
“Absorbing, funny, and emotionally blistering.”—Jules Siegel, San Francisco Chronicle
“A wry, painful, engaging book.”—Frank McCourt, author of Angelas Ashes
“Maynards testimony is priceless.”—Mary Cantwell, Vogue
“Riveting and disturbing.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Even Salinger loyalists may feel compelled to reexamine their idol.”—Glamour
“Dazzling.”—San Francisco Chronicle
Synopsis
In the spring of 1972, Joyce Maynard, a freshman at Yale, published a cover story in
The New York Times Magazine about life in the sixties. Among the many letters of praise, offers for writing assignments, and request for interviews was a one-page letter from the famously reclusive author, J.D. Salinger.
Don't Go Away Sad is the story of a girl who loved and lived with J.D. Salinger, and the woman she became. A crucial turning point in Joyce Maynard's life occurred when her own daughter turned eighteen--the age Maynard was when Salinger first approached her. Breaking a twenty-five year silence, Joyce Maynard addresses her relationship with Salinger for the first time, as well as the complicated , troubled and yet creative nature of her youth and family. She vividly describes the details of the times and her life with the finesse of a natural storyteller.
Courageously written by a women determined to allow her life to unfold with authenticity, Don't Go Away Sad is a testament to the resiliency of the spirit and the honesty of an unwavering eye.
Synopsis
New York Times bestselling author of Labor DayA Memoir
With a New Preface
When it was first published in 1998, At Home in the World set off a furor in the literary world and beyond. Joyce Maynards memoir broke a silence concerning her relationship—at age eighteen—with the famously reclusive author J. D. Salinger, then age fifty-three, who had read a story she wrote for The New York Times in her freshman year of college and sent her a letter that changed her life. Reviewers called her book “shameless” and “powerful” and its author was simultaneously reviled and cheered.
With what some have viewed as shocking honesty, Maynard explores her coming-of-age in an alcoholic family, her mothers dream to mold her into a writer, her self-imposed exile from the world of her peers when she left Yale to live with Salinger, and her struggle to reclaim her sense of self in the crushing aftermath of his dismissal of her not long after her nineteenth birthday. A quarter of a century later—having become a writer, survived the end of her marriage and the deaths of her parents, and with an eighteen-year-old daughter of her own—Maynard pays a visit to the man who broke her heart. The story she tells—of the girl she was and the woman she became—is at once devastating, inspiring, and triumphant.
Synopsis
When it was first published in 1998,
At Home in the World set off a furor in the literary world and beyond. Joyce Maynard's memoir broke a silence concerning her relationship--at age eighteen--with the famously reclusive author J.D. Salinger, then age fifty-three, who had read a story she wrote for
The New York Times in her freshman year of college and sent her a letter that changed her life.
With what some have viewed as shocking honesty, Maynard explores her coming of age in an alcoholic family, her mother's dream to mold her into a writer, her self-imposed exile from the world of her peers when she left Yale to live with Salinger, and her struggle to reclaim her self of sense in the crushing aftermath of his dismissal of her not long after her nineteenth birthday. A quarter of a century later--having become a writer, survived the end of her marriage and the deaths of her parents, and with an eighteen-year-old daughter of her own--Maynard pays a visit to the man who broke her heart. The story she tells--of the girl she was and the woman she became--is at once devastating, inspiring, and triumphant.
About the Author
Joyce Maynard was born and raised in New Hampshire. She is the author of several books, includin
g To Die For, Where Love Goes, Domestic Affairs, Baby Talk, and her memoir
Looking Back, which she wrote at the age of eighteen. Joyce Maynard has written for many national publications, including
The New York Times Magazine,
Parenting and
Good Housekeeping. She lives in Mill Valley, California, with her three children.