Fast Girl

Fast Girl

Author: Suzy Favor Hamilton

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2015-09-14

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 0062346210

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The former middle distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with mental illness, and how mania controlled and compelled her in competition, but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic, Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind. During the 1990s, three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was the darling of American track and field. An outstanding runner, a major sports apparel spokesperson, and a happily married wife, she was the model for an active, healthy, and wholesome life. But her perfect facade masked a dark truth: manic depression and bipolar disorder that drove her obsession to perform and win. For years after leaving the track, Suzy wrestled with her condition, as well as the loss of a close friend, conflicted feelings about motherhood and her marriage, and lingering shame about her athletic career. After a misdiagnosis and a recommendation for medication that only exacerbated her mania and made her hypersexual, Suzy embarked on a new path, and assumed a new identity. Fueled by a newfound confidence, a feeling of strength and independence and a desire she couldn’t tamp down, she became a high-priced escort in Las Vegas, working as “Kelly.” But Suzy could not keep her double life a secret forever. When it was eventually exposed, it sent her into a reckless suicidal period where the only option seemed out. Finally, with the help of her devoted husband, Suzy finally got the proper medical help she needed. In this startling frank memoir, she recounts the journey to outrun her demons, revealing how a woman used to physically controlling her body learned to come to terms with her unstable mind. It is the story of a how a supreme competitor scored her most important victory of all—reclaiming her life from the ravages of an untreated mental illness. Today, thanks to diagnosis, therapy, Kelly has stepped into the shadows, but Suzy is building a better life, one day at a time. Sharing her story, Suzy is determined to raise awareness, provide understanding, and offer inspiration to others coping with their own challenges.


Book Synopsis Fast Girl by : Suzy Favor Hamilton

Download or read book Fast Girl written by Suzy Favor Hamilton and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2015-09-14 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The former middle distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with mental illness, and how mania controlled and compelled her in competition, but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic, Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind. During the 1990s, three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was the darling of American track and field. An outstanding runner, a major sports apparel spokesperson, and a happily married wife, she was the model for an active, healthy, and wholesome life. But her perfect facade masked a dark truth: manic depression and bipolar disorder that drove her obsession to perform and win. For years after leaving the track, Suzy wrestled with her condition, as well as the loss of a close friend, conflicted feelings about motherhood and her marriage, and lingering shame about her athletic career. After a misdiagnosis and a recommendation for medication that only exacerbated her mania and made her hypersexual, Suzy embarked on a new path, and assumed a new identity. Fueled by a newfound confidence, a feeling of strength and independence and a desire she couldn’t tamp down, she became a high-priced escort in Las Vegas, working as “Kelly.” But Suzy could not keep her double life a secret forever. When it was eventually exposed, it sent her into a reckless suicidal period where the only option seemed out. Finally, with the help of her devoted husband, Suzy finally got the proper medical help she needed. In this startling frank memoir, she recounts the journey to outrun her demons, revealing how a woman used to physically controlling her body learned to come to terms with her unstable mind. It is the story of a how a supreme competitor scored her most important victory of all—reclaiming her life from the ravages of an untreated mental illness. Today, thanks to diagnosis, therapy, Kelly has stepped into the shadows, but Suzy is building a better life, one day at a time. Sharing her story, Suzy is determined to raise awareness, provide understanding, and offer inspiration to others coping with their own challenges.


Fast Girl

Fast Girl

Author: Ingrid Steffensen

Publisher: Seal Press

Published: 2012-09-11

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1580054129

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Life in Ingrid Steffensen's New Jersey suburb was safe, comfortable, and predictable. A college professor, wife, and mother of a preadolescent daughter, her carefully cultivated world was comprised of the usual suspects: family, work, book clubs, yoga classes, and date nights. Then, one day?thinking she'd be a good sport and maybe learn something about what made her car-crazed husband tick?she put a helmet on her head, took her Mini Cooper to the racetrack, and learned how to drive it really, really fast. Soon, what began as a whim became a full-blown obsession?and a freeing journey of self-discovery. In the eventful, exhilarating year that followed her first lesson, Steffenson dove head-first into high-performance driving. In the process, she discovered the terrifying and addictive thrill of pushing her limits, learning an entirely new set of skills, and tackling danger head-on?and found that doing so liberated her in a way that she hadn't even known she needed. Fast-paced and fun, Fast Girl is the quirky, real-life chronicle of how one woman stepped outside her comfort zone, shrugged off the shackles of suburban conformity, and changed her entire perspective on life through the unlikeliest of means: racecar driving.


Book Synopsis Fast Girl by : Ingrid Steffensen

Download or read book Fast Girl written by Ingrid Steffensen and published by Seal Press. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life in Ingrid Steffensen's New Jersey suburb was safe, comfortable, and predictable. A college professor, wife, and mother of a preadolescent daughter, her carefully cultivated world was comprised of the usual suspects: family, work, book clubs, yoga classes, and date nights. Then, one day?thinking she'd be a good sport and maybe learn something about what made her car-crazed husband tick?she put a helmet on her head, took her Mini Cooper to the racetrack, and learned how to drive it really, really fast. Soon, what began as a whim became a full-blown obsession?and a freeing journey of self-discovery. In the eventful, exhilarating year that followed her first lesson, Steffenson dove head-first into high-performance driving. In the process, she discovered the terrifying and addictive thrill of pushing her limits, learning an entirely new set of skills, and tackling danger head-on?and found that doing so liberated her in a way that she hadn't even known she needed. Fast-paced and fun, Fast Girl is the quirky, real-life chronicle of how one woman stepped outside her comfort zone, shrugged off the shackles of suburban conformity, and changed her entire perspective on life through the unlikeliest of means: racecar driving.


Fast Girl

Fast Girl

Author: Ingrid Steffensen

Publisher: Seal Press

Published: 2012-09-11

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1580054684

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Life in Ingrid Steffensen’s New Jersey suburb was safe, comfortable, and predictable. A college professor, wife, and mother of a preadolescent daughter, her carefully cultivated world was comprised of the usual suspects: family, work, book clubs, yoga classes, and date nights. Then, one day—thinking she’d be a good sport and maybe learn something about what made her car-crazed husband tick—she put a helmet on her head, took her Mini Cooper to the racetrack, and learned how to drive it really, really fast. Soon, what began as a whim became a full-blown obsession—and a freeing journey of self-discovery. In the eventful, exhilarating year that followed her first lesson, Steffenson dove head-first into high-performance driving. In the process, she discovered the terrifying and addictive thrill of pushing her limits, learning an entirely new set of skills, and tackling danger head-on—and found that doing so liberated her in a way that she hadn’t even known she needed. Fast-paced and fun, Fast Girl is the quirky, real-life chronicle of how one woman stepped outside her comfort zone, shrugged off the shackles of suburban conformity, and changed her entire perspective on life through the unlikeliest of means: racecar driving.


Book Synopsis Fast Girl by : Ingrid Steffensen

Download or read book Fast Girl written by Ingrid Steffensen and published by Seal Press. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life in Ingrid Steffensen’s New Jersey suburb was safe, comfortable, and predictable. A college professor, wife, and mother of a preadolescent daughter, her carefully cultivated world was comprised of the usual suspects: family, work, book clubs, yoga classes, and date nights. Then, one day—thinking she’d be a good sport and maybe learn something about what made her car-crazed husband tick—she put a helmet on her head, took her Mini Cooper to the racetrack, and learned how to drive it really, really fast. Soon, what began as a whim became a full-blown obsession—and a freeing journey of self-discovery. In the eventful, exhilarating year that followed her first lesson, Steffenson dove head-first into high-performance driving. In the process, she discovered the terrifying and addictive thrill of pushing her limits, learning an entirely new set of skills, and tackling danger head-on—and found that doing so liberated her in a way that she hadn’t even known she needed. Fast-paced and fun, Fast Girl is the quirky, real-life chronicle of how one woman stepped outside her comfort zone, shrugged off the shackles of suburban conformity, and changed her entire perspective on life through the unlikeliest of means: racecar driving.


Hungry Girl Fast & Easy

Hungry Girl Fast & Easy

Author: Lisa Lillien

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Published: 2021-01-12

Total Pages: 604

ISBN-13: 1250154553

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The next cookbook from the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the Hungry Girl brand! Lisa Lillien is back with her fastest and easiest recipes ever -- each one is ready in 30 minutes or less! With full-color photos of every recipe, Hungry Girl Fast & Easy consists of quick and simple meals & snacks made with everyday ingredients. Get ready for... * sheet-pan recipes * one-pot recipes * stir-frys & skillet meals * salads & slaws * 10-minute power bowls * 5-minute smoothies * 2-ingredient cake mugs ... and so much more! And like all Hungry Girl recipes, the calories counts are small and the portions are large! Hungry Girl Fast & Easy is packed with delicious recipes that you’ll make again and again.


Book Synopsis Hungry Girl Fast & Easy by : Lisa Lillien

Download or read book Hungry Girl Fast & Easy written by Lisa Lillien and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2021-01-12 with total page 604 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The next cookbook from the #1 New York Times bestselling author behind the Hungry Girl brand! Lisa Lillien is back with her fastest and easiest recipes ever -- each one is ready in 30 minutes or less! With full-color photos of every recipe, Hungry Girl Fast & Easy consists of quick and simple meals & snacks made with everyday ingredients. Get ready for... * sheet-pan recipes * one-pot recipes * stir-frys & skillet meals * salads & slaws * 10-minute power bowls * 5-minute smoothies * 2-ingredient cake mugs ... and so much more! And like all Hungry Girl recipes, the calories counts are small and the portions are large! Hungry Girl Fast & Easy is packed with delicious recipes that you’ll make again and again.


Normal Girl

Normal Girl

Author: Molly Jong-Fast

Publisher: Villard

Published: 2001-07-13

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1588360326

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"Randa, what's wrong with you?" "Nothing. I mean, I'm a crazy cocaine addict with a hankering for heroin, but other than that, I'm just a nice Jewish girl from the Upper East Side with Prada shoes. How could anything be wrong?" Molly Jong-Fast's Normal Girl is striking-and as funny as it as real. Inspired by her own experiences growing up in the decadent, fast-paced netherworld of New York City's jet set, Jong-Fast's debut novel is a hilarious, hard-edged walk past the velvet rope. At just nineteen, Miranda Woke seems to have it all. Her parents are famous socialites, she's already been written up on Page Six sixteen times, she's on all the right invitation lists, and drugs and alcohol are never in short supply. But while her image screams "It girl," she'd rather be a normal girl, and the A-list feels even more uncomfortable than her Manolo Blahnik shoes. In fact, she's become the "living embodiment of an awkward phase" with "more issues than Harper's Bazaar." Neither Xanax nor Deepak Chopra tapes help. And now that her junkie party has trashed her parents' house, she has to liquidate her trust fund to pay Mom's decorator for a quick fix. But worst of all, Miranda thinks she just murdered her own boyfriend. In an all-too-glamorous world where the cell phone is always ringing, Miranda sees no escape other than a downward spiral of cocaine, Valium, and heroin. It takes friends who offer more than air kisses to force Miranda to look in the mirror and get some help.


Book Synopsis Normal Girl by : Molly Jong-Fast

Download or read book Normal Girl written by Molly Jong-Fast and published by Villard. This book was released on 2001-07-13 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Randa, what's wrong with you?" "Nothing. I mean, I'm a crazy cocaine addict with a hankering for heroin, but other than that, I'm just a nice Jewish girl from the Upper East Side with Prada shoes. How could anything be wrong?" Molly Jong-Fast's Normal Girl is striking-and as funny as it as real. Inspired by her own experiences growing up in the decadent, fast-paced netherworld of New York City's jet set, Jong-Fast's debut novel is a hilarious, hard-edged walk past the velvet rope. At just nineteen, Miranda Woke seems to have it all. Her parents are famous socialites, she's already been written up on Page Six sixteen times, she's on all the right invitation lists, and drugs and alcohol are never in short supply. But while her image screams "It girl," she'd rather be a normal girl, and the A-list feels even more uncomfortable than her Manolo Blahnik shoes. In fact, she's become the "living embodiment of an awkward phase" with "more issues than Harper's Bazaar." Neither Xanax nor Deepak Chopra tapes help. And now that her junkie party has trashed her parents' house, she has to liquidate her trust fund to pay Mom's decorator for a quick fix. But worst of all, Miranda thinks she just murdered her own boyfriend. In an all-too-glamorous world where the cell phone is always ringing, Miranda sees no escape other than a downward spiral of cocaine, Valium, and heroin. It takes friends who offer more than air kisses to force Miranda to look in the mirror and get some help.


Girl [Maladjusted]

Girl [Maladjusted]

Author: Molly Jong-Fast

Publisher: Villard

Published: 2007-12-18

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 0307415309

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Molly Jong-Fast grew up in a town house with a pink door and paintings of ladies playing naked Twister. There were world-famous therapists living in her cellar, a secretary with a brain tumor, a nanny who was a numbers runner, and grandparents who revealed that they had sex on their first date. Leading therapists agree: a normal childhood. In Girl [Maladjusted], Molly Jong-Fast takes us on a tour of her big fat Jewish bohemian upbringing. With the same keen insight, effortless cool, and buoyant wit that won her legions of devoted readers in Normal Girl, she offers a riotous and affecting coming-of-age story that is both uniquely weird and weirdly universal.


Book Synopsis Girl [Maladjusted] by : Molly Jong-Fast

Download or read book Girl [Maladjusted] written by Molly Jong-Fast and published by Villard. This book was released on 2007-12-18 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Molly Jong-Fast grew up in a town house with a pink door and paintings of ladies playing naked Twister. There were world-famous therapists living in her cellar, a secretary with a brain tumor, a nanny who was a numbers runner, and grandparents who revealed that they had sex on their first date. Leading therapists agree: a normal childhood. In Girl [Maladjusted], Molly Jong-Fast takes us on a tour of her big fat Jewish bohemian upbringing. With the same keen insight, effortless cool, and buoyant wit that won her legions of devoted readers in Normal Girl, she offers a riotous and affecting coming-of-age story that is both uniquely weird and weirdly universal.


Fast Girls

Fast Girls

Author: Elise Hooper

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2020-07-07

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13: 0062938002

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ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE SUMMER BY POPSUGAR, FROLIC, PARADE, TRAVEL & LEISURE, SHE KNOWS, and SHE READS! NAMED A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF 2020 (SO FAR). “Fast Girls is a compelling, thrilling look at what it takes to be a female Olympian in pre-war America...Brava to Elise Hooper for bringing these inspiring heroines to the wide audience they so richly deserve.”—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics and The House Girl Acclaimed author Elise Hooper explores the gripping, real life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated women’s Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany. Perfect for readers who love untold stories of amazing women, such as The Only Woman in the Room, Hidden Figures, and The Lost Girls of Paris. In the 1928 Olympics, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything. Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team. From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but she dreams of escaping the hardships of her farm life through athletic success. Her aspirations appear impossible until a chance encounter changes her life. These three athletes will join with others to defy society’s expectations of what women can achieve. As tensions bring the United States and Europe closer and closer to the brink of war, Betty, Louise, and Helen must fight for the chance to compete as the fastest women in the world amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Nazi-sponsored 1936 Olympics in Berlin.


Book Synopsis Fast Girls by : Elise Hooper

Download or read book Fast Girls written by Elise Hooper and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE SUMMER BY POPSUGAR, FROLIC, PARADE, TRAVEL & LEISURE, SHE KNOWS, and SHE READS! NAMED A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF 2020 (SO FAR). “Fast Girls is a compelling, thrilling look at what it takes to be a female Olympian in pre-war America...Brava to Elise Hooper for bringing these inspiring heroines to the wide audience they so richly deserve.”—Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics and The House Girl Acclaimed author Elise Hooper explores the gripping, real life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated women’s Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany. Perfect for readers who love untold stories of amazing women, such as The Only Woman in the Room, Hidden Figures, and The Lost Girls of Paris. In the 1928 Olympics, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything. Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team. From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but she dreams of escaping the hardships of her farm life through athletic success. Her aspirations appear impossible until a chance encounter changes her life. These three athletes will join with others to defy society’s expectations of what women can achieve. As tensions bring the United States and Europe closer and closer to the brink of war, Betty, Louise, and Helen must fight for the chance to compete as the fastest women in the world amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Nazi-sponsored 1936 Olympics in Berlin.


Fast and Slow

Fast and Slow

Author: Barefoot Books

Publisher: Barefoot Books

Published: 2019-09-01

Total Pages: 16

ISBN-13: 1782859608

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Little ones love things that go. Introduce first vocabulary about modes of transportation with this essential baby book. The appealing, textured illustrations compare slow-moving vehicles like hot-air balloons and bikes with speedy machines like cars and rockets.


Book Synopsis Fast and Slow by : Barefoot Books

Download or read book Fast and Slow written by Barefoot Books and published by Barefoot Books. This book was released on 2019-09-01 with total page 16 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Little ones love things that go. Introduce first vocabulary about modes of transportation with this essential baby book. The appealing, textured illustrations compare slow-moving vehicles like hot-air balloons and bikes with speedy machines like cars and rockets.


Fast Pitch

Fast Pitch

Author: Nic Stone

Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Published: 2021-08-31

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1984893033

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a challenging and heartwarming coming-of-age story about a softball player looking to prove herself on and off the field. Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But life has thrown some curveballs her way. Strike one: As the sole team of all-brown faces, Shenice and the Firebirds have to work twice as hard to prove that Black girls belong at bat. Strike two: Shenice’s focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-ending—and family-name-ruining—crime may have been a setup. Strike three: Broken focus means mistakes on the field. And Shenice’s teammates are beginning to wonder if she’s captain-qualified. It's up to Shenice to discover the truth about her family’s past—and fast—before secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever.


Book Synopsis Fast Pitch by : Nic Stone

Download or read book Fast Pitch written by Nic Stone and published by Crown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a challenging and heartwarming coming-of-age story about a softball player looking to prove herself on and off the field. Shenice Lockwood, captain of the Fulton Firebirds, is hyper-focused when she steps up to the plate. Nothing can stop her from leading her team to the U12 fast-pitch softball regional championship. But life has thrown some curveballs her way. Strike one: As the sole team of all-brown faces, Shenice and the Firebirds have to work twice as hard to prove that Black girls belong at bat. Strike two: Shenice’s focus gets shaken when her great-uncle Jack reveals that a career-ending—and family-name-ruining—crime may have been a setup. Strike three: Broken focus means mistakes on the field. And Shenice’s teammates are beginning to wonder if she’s captain-qualified. It's up to Shenice to discover the truth about her family’s past—and fast—before secrets take the Firebirds out of the game forever.


Bubblegum

Bubblegum

Author: Adam Levin

Publisher: Anchor

Published: 2020-04-14

Total Pages: 784

ISBN-13: 0385544979

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"Adam Levin is one of our wildest writers and our funniest, and Bubblegum is a dazzling accomplishment of wit and inventiveness." —George Saunders "Levin's brains may have earned him a cult...but here he swells to a democratic reach. Give him a try sometime. His gate’s wide open.” —Garth Risk Hallberg, The New York Times Book Review The astonishing new novel by the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award-winning author of The Instructions. Bubblegum is set in an alternate present-day world in which the Internet does not exist, and has never existed. Rather, a wholly different species of interactive technology--a "flesh-and-bone robot" called the Curio--has dominated both the market and the cultural imagination since the late 1980s. Belt Magnet, who as a boy in greater Chicago became one of the lucky first adopters of a Curio, is now writing his memoir, and through it we follow a singular man out of sync with the harsh realities of a world he feels alien to, but must find a way to live in. At age thirty-eight, still living at home with his widowed father, Belt insulates himself from the awful and terrifying world outside by spending most of his time with books, his beloved Curio, and the voices in his head, which he isn't entirely sure are in his head. After Belt's father goes on a fishing excursion, a simple trip to the bank escalates into an epic saga that eventually forces Belt to confront the world he fears, as well as his estranged childhood friend Jonboat, the celebrity astronaut and billionaire. In Bubblegum, Adam Levin has crafted a profoundly hilarious, resonant, and monumental narrative about heartbreak, longing, art, and the search for belonging in an incompatible world. Bubblegum is a rare masterwork of provocative social (and self-) awareness and intimate emotional power.


Book Synopsis Bubblegum by : Adam Levin

Download or read book Bubblegum written by Adam Levin and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2020-04-14 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Adam Levin is one of our wildest writers and our funniest, and Bubblegum is a dazzling accomplishment of wit and inventiveness." —George Saunders "Levin's brains may have earned him a cult...but here he swells to a democratic reach. Give him a try sometime. His gate’s wide open.” —Garth Risk Hallberg, The New York Times Book Review The astonishing new novel by the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award-winning author of The Instructions. Bubblegum is set in an alternate present-day world in which the Internet does not exist, and has never existed. Rather, a wholly different species of interactive technology--a "flesh-and-bone robot" called the Curio--has dominated both the market and the cultural imagination since the late 1980s. Belt Magnet, who as a boy in greater Chicago became one of the lucky first adopters of a Curio, is now writing his memoir, and through it we follow a singular man out of sync with the harsh realities of a world he feels alien to, but must find a way to live in. At age thirty-eight, still living at home with his widowed father, Belt insulates himself from the awful and terrifying world outside by spending most of his time with books, his beloved Curio, and the voices in his head, which he isn't entirely sure are in his head. After Belt's father goes on a fishing excursion, a simple trip to the bank escalates into an epic saga that eventually forces Belt to confront the world he fears, as well as his estranged childhood friend Jonboat, the celebrity astronaut and billionaire. In Bubblegum, Adam Levin has crafted a profoundly hilarious, resonant, and monumental narrative about heartbreak, longing, art, and the search for belonging in an incompatible world. Bubblegum is a rare masterwork of provocative social (and self-) awareness and intimate emotional power.