{"product_id":"the-unspeakable-meghan-daum-9781250074928","title":"The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA master of the personal essay candidly explores love, death, and the counterfeit rituals of American life in this \"brave, funny compendium\" (\u003ci\u003eSlate\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNearly fifteen years after her debut collection, \u003ci\u003eMy Misspent Youth, \u003c\/i\u003ecaptured the ambitions and anxieties of a generation, Meghan Daum returns to the personal essay with \u003ci\u003eThe Unspeakable, \u003c\/i\u003e a powerful collection of ten new works. Where her previous collection explores what it is to be a struggling twenty-something urban dweller with an overdrawn bank account and oversized ambition, \u003ci\u003eThe Unspeakable \u003c\/i\u003econtends with parental death, the decision not to have children, and more-a new set of challenges tackled by a writer at her best, investigated in the same uncompromising voice that made Daum one of the most engaging thinkers writing today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Unspeakable, \u003c\/i\u003eDaum pushes back against the false sentimentality and shrink-wrapped platitudes that surround so much of the contemporary American experience. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the New Age search for the \"Best Possible Experience,\" champions the merits of cream-of-mushroom-soup casserole, and gleefully recounts a quintessential \"only-in-L.A.\" story of playing charades at a famous person's home. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCombining the piercing insight of Joan Didion with humor reminiscent of Nora Ephron's, Daum dissects our culture's most dangerous illusions while retaining her own joy and compassion. Through it all, she dramatizes the search for an authentic self in a world where achieving an identity is never simple and never complete.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Meghan Daum\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1250074924\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250074928\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Picador USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/03\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.40w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeople Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/23\/2015 pg. 46\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/03\/2016 pg. 24","brand":"Meghan Daum","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44045229949183,"sku":"9781250074928","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5839baf3-d5d2-4cdd-8278-c8c399e592d1.jpg?v=1684977511","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-unspeakable-meghan-daum-9781250074928","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}