{"product_id":"leaving-isnt-the-hardest-thing-lauren-hough-9780593080764","title":"Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing: Essays","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNEW YORK TIMES\u003c\/i\u003e BESTSELLER - \"A memoir in essays about so many things--growing up in an abusive cult, coming of age as a lesbian in the military, forced out by homophobia, living on the margins as a working class woman and what it's like to grow into the person you are meant to be. Hough's writing will break your heart.\" --Roxane Gay, author of \u003ci\u003eBad Feminist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eSearing and extremely personal essays, shot through with the darkest elements America can manifest, while discovering light and humor in unexpected corners.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs an adult, Lauren Hough has had many identities: an airman in the U.S. Air Force, a cable guy, a bouncer at a gay club. As a child, however, she had none. Growing up as a member of the infamous cult The Children of God, Hough had her own self robbed from her. The cult took her all over the globe--to Germany, Japan, Texas, Chile--but it wasn't until she finally left for good that Lauren understood she could have a life beyond \"The Family.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAlong the way, she's loaded up her car and started over, trading one life for the next. She's taken pilgrimages to the sights of her youth, been kept in solitary confinement, dated a lot of women, dabbled in drugs, and eventually found herself as what she always wanted to be: a writer. Here, as she sweeps through the underbelly of America--relying on friends, family, and strangers alike--she begins to excavate a new identity even as her past continues to trail her and color her world, relationships, and perceptions of self. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt once razor-sharp, profoundly brave, and often very, very funny, the essays in \u003ci\u003eLeaving Isn't the Hardest Thing\u003c\/i\u003e interrogate our notions of ecstasy, queerness, and what it means to live freely. Each piece is a reckoning: of survival, identity, and how to reclaim one's past when carving out a future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA VINTAGE ORIGINAL\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Lauren Hough\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0593080769\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593080764\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Vintage\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/13\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.20w x 0.65d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/15\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2021 pg. 11\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/01\/2021 pg. 70\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/30\/2021","brand":"Lauren Hough","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44053937684735,"sku":"9780593080764","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_d728fc17-4659-4553-b62b-e5ac1b710aec.jpg?v=1685027081","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/leaving-isnt-the-hardest-thing-lauren-hough-9780593080764","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}