A classic essay collection, published for the first time in the UK, from the author of Fierce Attachments, recently voted the 'Best Memoir of the Past 50 Years' by the New York Times.

In this collection of seven personal essays, Vivian Gornick explores her need for conversation and connection, whether she's walking the bustling streets of New York or teaching writing in sleepy university towns.

She looks back on charged summers waitressing in the Catskills, a failed friendship with an older woman and mentor, the feminist movement of the 1970s, and celebrates the moments of random recognition that are part of life in the city.

In writing that is stylish, sharp and incisive, Gornick cuts through to the heart of what it is to experience longing, loneliness, intimacy and
self-recognition.