The Art of Leaving: A Memoir

The Art of Leaving: A Memoir

An intimate memoir in essays by an award-winning Israeli writer who travels the world, from New York to India, searching for love, belonging, and an escape from grief following the death of her father when she was a young girl

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS

This searching collection opens with the death of Ayelet Tsabariâ€™s father when she was just nine years old. His passing left her feeling rootless, devastated, and driven to question her complex identity as an Israeli of Yemeni descent in a country that suppressed and devalued her ancestorsâ€™ traditions.

In The Art of Leaving, Tsabari tells her story, from her early love of writing and words, to her rebellion during her mandatory service in the Israeli army. She travels from Israel to New York, Canada, Thailand, and India, falling in and out of love with countries, men and women, drugs and alcohol, running away from responsibilities and refusing to settle in one place. She recounts her first marriage, her struggle to define herself as a writer in a new language, her decision to become a mother, and finally her rediscovery and embrace of her family historyâ€”a history marked by generations of headstrong women who struggled to choose between their hearts and their homes. Eventually, she realizes that she must reconcile the memories of her father and the sadness of her past if she is ever going to come to terms with herself.

With fierce, emotional prose, Ayelet Tsabari crafts a beautiful meditation about the lengths we will travel to try to escape our grief, the universal search to find a place where we belong, and the sense of home we eventually find within ourselves.

Praise for The Art of Leaving

â€œThe Art of Leaving is, in large part, about what is passed down to us, and how we react to whatever it is. . . . [It] is not self-helpâ€”we cannot become whatever we put our mind toâ€”yetÂ it suggests that we can begin to heal from what has broken us, if we only let ourselves. . . . Tsabariâ€™s intense prose gave me pause.â€â€”The New York Times Book ReviewÂ â€œShortlistâ€

â€œTold inÂ a series of fierce, unflinching essays . . . an Israeli Canadian author explores her upbringing and the death of her father in thisÂ stark, beautiful memoir.â€Â â€”Shelf Awareness (starred review)

â€œThe Art of LeavingÂ will take you onÂ an emotional journey you wonâ€™t soon forget.â€â€”Hello Giggles

â€œCandid, affecting . . . [Ayelet Tsabariâ€™s] linked essays cohere into a tender, moving memoir.â€â€”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Country USA
Brand Random House
Manufacturer Random House
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber RKC0003491948
Color Multicolor
ReleaseDate 2019-02-19
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780812988987

Country	USA
Brand	Random House
Manufacturer	Random House
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	RKC0003491948
Color	Multicolor
ReleaseDate	2019-02-19
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780812988987

The Art of Leaving: A Memoir

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