NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “This Year’s Must-Read Memoir” (W magazine) about the choices a young woman makes in her search for adventure, meaning, and love NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Vogue • Time • Esquire • Entertainment Weekly • The Guardian • Harper’s Bazaar • Library Journal • NPR All her life, Ariel Levy was told that she was too fervent, too forceful, too much. As a young … • NPR
All her life, Ariel Levy was told that she was too fervent, too forceful, too much. As a young woman, she decided that becoming a writer would perfectly channel her strength and desire. She would be a professional explorer—“the kind of woman who is free to do whatever she chooses.” Levy moved to Manhattan to pursue her dream, and spent years of adventure, traveling all over the world writing stories about unconventional heroines, following their fearless examples in her own life.
But when she experiences unthinkable heartbreak, Levy is forced to surrender her illusion of control. In telling her story, Levy has captured a portrait of our time, of the shifting forces in American culture, of what has changed and what has remained. And of how to begin again.
Praise for The Rules Do Not Apply
“Unflinching and intimate, wrenching and revelatory, Ariel Levy’s powerful memoir about love, loss, and finding one’s way shimmers with truth and heart on every page.”—Cheryl Strayed
“Every deep feeling a human is capable of will be shaken loose by this profound book. Ariel Levy has taken grief and made art out of it.”—David Sedaris
“Beautifully crafted . . . This book is haunting; it is smart and engaging. It was so engrossing that I read it in a day.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Levy’s wise and poignant memoir is the voice of a new generation of women, full of grit, pathos, truth, and inspiration. Being in her presence is energizing and ennobling. Reading her deep little book is inspiring.”—San Francisco Book Review
“Levy has the rare gift of seeing herself with fierce, unforgiving clarity. And she deploys prose to match, raw and agile. She plumbs the commotion deep within and takes the measure of her have-it-all generation.”—The Atlantic
“Cheryl Strayed meets a Nora Ephron movie. You’ll laugh, ugly cry, and finish it before the weekend’s over.”—theSkimm
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More than almost any memoir I’ve read in the last few years, Levy really excels at painting herself on the page in her lowest, most difficult moments. Many writers — understandably — have a hard time revealing their worst flaws for potentially thousands and thousands of people to read. Levy doesn’t have this problem; her heartache and hatred and inner turmoil are ours to soak in, and I cried more than once. A good story, but I read this one — and recommend it — for the writing alone.
(If you liked this one, try The Chronology of Water: a Memoir, which is even more well-written and devastating.)
A memoir you’ll love even if you don’t love memoirs. Ariel Levy is a writer’s writer–deft with language, vulnerable on the page, and relatable on so many levels. A book for seekers of all ages.
Excellent biography of an unusual person. Great author
Not very interesting. It seems the author wrote it as catharsis for her life problems, but I never felt emotionally engaged.
Just not my cup of tea!
Ariel Levy’s unflinching look at herself and the events that unfolded in her life often gave me pause and a chance to reflect on some of my own actions and motives. I listened to the audio version just before going to hear her speak, after having read the book several months earlier. While I greatly enjoyed listening to her read it, it actually made seeing her a disappointment since she mostly quoted from the book.
This was a funny, painful, and insightful look onto the life of a person trying to figure it all out. The author is honest even when it doesn’t show her in the best light. And that kind of honesty is rare. Highly recommended.
The outcome was somewhat predictable. Just a question of how long it would take to get there. Interesting look into the life of a female BI. Her oppotunities for finding love, a soul mate or whatever aren’t limited by gender….
It sounded promising and the author does have a very honest voice. Her prose is beautiful and interesting but after a while I grew tired of her profound self-awareness and she seemed a bit too self-important. It is a memoir so I understand that I chose to read her story but after the drawn out reflections of her dual
crises I felt like it ended abruptly and without resolution. Again, that is probably the most honest since much of our lives are like this but it was not a satisfying read for me.
A beautifully written memoir with no holds barred.
Thought-provoking.
she is something else, I’ll tell you. Creative, impulsive, ambitious, and emotionally honest, her memoir was a pleasure.
I should know if a book is bragged on too much by reviewers that it is not for me.
I found this book to be a bit depressing. The author is a narcissist in my opinion. Very self-absorbed. She made poor choices most of her life, even as an adult…and a seemingly intelligent one at that. She seemed to be looking for sympathy from the reader throughout the entire story. It was tiresome to read. Too many good books out there…don’t waste time on this one.
I enjoy memoirs and this was a well written one. She lived an interesting life and it was almost haunting to read its twists and turns.
A must read!!!!!
The best I have read this year.
Dumb poorly written, self-serving waste of time.
Exceptionally well written. Honest. I will read more of her works.