There's a Road to Everywhere Except Where You Came From

Book excerpt: “A sneakily disturbing, disarmingly profound, casually devastating memoir” of a young writer in NYC—and the fateful turn his life takes on Sept. 11, 2001 (Michael Chabon). In 1998, twenty-four-year-old Bryan Charles came to New York, following the well-trodden path of many before him—pursuing the life of a writer in the storied city far from his Midwestern roots. And like so many of his predecessors, his journey took him into squalid apartments and mind-numbing temp jobs, fleeting romances and dwindling finances, self-doubt and homesickness. He chronicles these experiences with equal parts witty observation and unguarded honesty, reflecting on the life of a solitary soul in a teeming metropolis, struggling to make a living . . . and struggling harder to make it as a writer. His life takes a turn for the better when he lands in a lucrative job that pays the bills, builds his bank account, and buys him a chance to chase his dream—all from the seventieth floor of the World Trade Center. But the next turn his life takes, and which takes the lives of thousands of others, is a destiny-altering nightmare . . . and a call to action that can’t be ignored. “A gripping account told in the muted style of a writer with true authority.” —Publishers Weekly “This is the book I can’t forget . . . insightful, transcendent . . . it knocked me on my ass.” —Library Journal (starred review) “A sneakily disturbing, disarmingly profound, casually devastating memoir, taut and adept, that cracked me up even at its saddest moments, and broke my heart almost without my quite noticing.” —Michael Chabon