Wherever You Go, There They Are: Stories About My Family You Might Relate To - Hardcover

"A smart, edgy writer...As a memoirist, Gurwitch succeeds by evoking emotions that cut to the core of our humanity, and giving us laughs along the way." --Mort Zachter, Los Angeles Review of Books "A vivacious confessional... The memoir's madcap joy is the entire Gurwitch clan of scenery chewers...With her moonshine-smuggling forebears and her brothel matron great-grandmother, Gurwitch joins the shell-shocked ranks of dysfunctional-family chroniclers Augusten Burroughs and Sean Wilsey." --Natalie Beach, O Magazine "Sagacious wit and soulful insights with a dash of Nora Ephron." --Cynthia Romanowski, Coast Magazine "Once I started Wherever You Go, There They Are, I couldn't put it down. This book is hysterically, laugh-out-loud funny--take it on an airplane and be prepared to enjoy your flight." --Judy Greer, actress and author of I Don't Know What You Know Me From "I love spending time under the spell of Annabelle Gurwitch, who lived all these crackpot adventures so we don't have to. Her unforgettable stories about family and other disasters remind us how insane this world can be, and how necessary our laughter." --Sarah Hepola, author of Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget "I had to invent a word to describe this book. It's "Luffaw" a guffaw with a poignant "awww" as well. You'll relate to Annabelle Gurwitch's stories about finding your people and working with the ones you were given." --Jen Kirkman, author of I Can Barely Take Care of Myself "Annabelle Gurwitch takes a sharp-eyed, un-fool-able, and hilarious look at her family's loopy pursuit of the American Dream in Wherever You Go, There They Are. Wherever she goes, you'll want to follow her!" --Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed "Annabelle Gurwitch's book is really funny. That is, when you aren't choking up, you'll be laughing. Her parents are lovably infuriating and her travels among atheists, secular humanists, and new-agey summer campers are not only hysterical, but important, and a reminder that family is where you find it." --Julia Sweeney, author of If It's Not One Thing It's Your Mother and God Said Ha! "Annabelle Gurwitch picks up the mantles of Nora Ephron and David Sedaris with unapologetic irreverence and lovably brutal self-deprecation. As she ponders why families are so impossible to escape, you'll want to hold your own crazy loved ones closer and perhaps--like Annabelle--even consider breastfeeding your cat." --Faith Salie, author of Approval Junkie "In Wherever You Go, There They Are Annabelle Gurwitch takes inspiration from her own life to examine that most horrible of all human conditions: family. She makes a compelling case for community, while arguing for a definition that eschews tribalism. This hilarious and insightful book reminds me why I'm so, so happy that I didn't have children!" --Bill Maher "Reading Annabelle Gurwitch feels like staying up all night in a freewheeling conversation with my funniest, wisest, most magnetic friend. Wherever You Go, There They Are is required remedy for everyone desperate for a good, hard laugh at the vexing, heart-swelling madness we call family." --Maria Semple, author of Today Will Be Different and Where'd You Go, Bernadette? "Annabelle Gurwitch tackles every life passage, epic or trivial, with a courageous wit that makes even the darkest moments more bearable. Wherever You Go, There They Are hilariously explores the frustrations, catastrophes, and unforgettable thrills of navigating life with that gaggle of lunatics known as family." --Heather Havrilesky, author of How to Be a Person in the World and Disaster Preparedness "Annabelle Gurwitch claims to be related to her nutty family, but I suspect she's really the secret love child of Nora Ephron and Groucho Marx. She's an old-fashioned wit for the post-modern age, a curmudgeon with a deep well of empathy and a genuinely good soul. I'm so glad she's back with another book." --Meghan Daum, author of The Unspeakable

A hysterically funny and slyly insightful new collection of essays from New York Times bestselling author Annabelle Gurwitch, about her own family of scam artists and hucksters, as well as the sisterhoods, temporary tribes, and show-biz klatches who have become surrogates along the way.