{"product_id":"anywhere-else-rachel-knox-9780813081519","title":"Anywhere Else: Essays on Florida","description":"\u003cb\u003eA memoir\u003cbr\u003eof growing up in Florida interwoven with cultural reflections of the state from\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe X-Files \u003c\/i\u003eto Emerson--revealing the complex truths of life as a Floridian\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFlorida\u003cbr\u003eand pop culture are a magnetic, viral match. From true crimes on social media\u003cbr\u003eto spring break movies to \u003ci\u003eMiami Vice\u003c\/i\u003e, the state has been served up for\u003cbr\u003ethe rest of the world as a place of swamp things, serial killers, beach bums, \u003cbr\u003eteen girls, and dead poets. In \u003ci\u003eAnywhere Else\u003c\/i\u003e, Rachel Knox weaves her own\u003cbr\u003estory around the media caricatures, digging deeper into what it's like to be\u003cbr\u003efrom a \"wild\" place--and who gets to decide what that means.  \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eKnox\u003cbr\u003ewrites from her own experiences of Florida as a child in Sunday school, a\u003cbr\u003estudent on field trips to Everglades National Park, and a bartender making\u003cbr\u003edrinks for both out-of-state partiers and locals. She blends these memories\u003cbr\u003ewith critical looks at touchstones from different cultural moments, such as\u003cbr\u003eAileen Wuornos, America's most famous female serial killer; Florida's\u003cbr\u003eHighwaymen artists and Thomas Kinkade, the much-beloved religious \"Painter of\u003cbr\u003eLight\"; Ralph Waldo Emerson, the transcendentalist writer who spent time in St.\u003cbr\u003eAugustine; the gloriously trashy 90s neo-noir \u003ci\u003eWild Things\u003c\/i\u003e; and the\u003cbr\u003e\"Monster of the Week\" episodes of \u003ci\u003eThe X-Files\u003c\/i\u003e.Writing with clarity and searing honesty about real issues refracted\u003cbr\u003ethrough this prism of pop culture, Knox is both witty and vulnerable. In these\u003cbr\u003eessays, whether she's bobbing in the warm waters of the Gulf or running through\u003cbr\u003ethe trailer parks of her childhood, Knox portrays a Floridian struggling with a deep, complicated love of her\u003cbr\u003ehome state. \u003ci\u003eAnywhere Else \u003c\/i\u003eis a book for anyone who resonates with the\u003cbr\u003emessage that home may not be a perfect place, but that it is worth fighting\u003cbr\u003efor.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Rachel Knox\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0813081513\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780813081519\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Florida\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/24\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Rachel Knox","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47580103999743,"sku":"9780813081519","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_7cc61fb0-4a8f-4267-87bf-38d202c7ab1b.jpg?v=1763878826","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/anywhere-else-rachel-knox-9780813081519","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}