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E.A. Hanks
The 10: A Memoir of Family
and the Open Road
From Vanity Fair and The New York Times contributor
comes a beautifully written, deeply felt memoir recounting the solo,
cross-country journey she made along the Ten across the American
southwest: a mission to uncover both what harrowing violence may or may
not have happened to her late mother, but also, to look within and
discover who she herself is—where her mother ends and she begins.
In
her trusted loaded-up minivan “Minnie,” E.A. Hanks follows the same
route as a long-ago road trip with her mother in an attempt to better
understand the complicated woman who gave her life. Along the way, as
she follows her mother’s diaries and her own recollections of the route,
she begins to uncover secrets—some unexpectedly wonderful, and others
darker and more violent than she ever imagined—that bring more questions
than answers.
From the quiet expanses of White Sands National
Park to the bustling streets of New Orleans, and the Texas-Mexico border
to the swamps of the Florida panhandle, she interacts with the amazing
breadth and diversity of the people that call these places home.
Reckoning with the past, the present, her memories, and herself, Hanks
brings us along a beautiful voyage towards understanding how the stories
we tell about the places we’re from ultimately become the stories we
tell about the people we are.
"I cannot think of a writer since Joan Didion who writes about place and the characters that inhabit it quite in the way Hanks does. I was myself struck by her literary lightning over and over again and here is the highest praise. I did not want the journey to end." – Mary Morris, author of The Red House and The River Queen
"Sometimes sparkling, sometimes somber narrative of a sojourn along America’s southernmost interstate highway…. heartfelt, yearning…poetic…. A lively, lovely take on an old standby, the road trip as a journey within." – Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“[Hanks] shines in this affecting debut chronicle of her turbulent relationship with her mother…. her journey will resonate with anyone entangled in a messy parent-child bond… a forthright and moving account.” – Publishers Weekly
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| Madeleine Eve Ignon |
E.A. Hanks lives in Los Angeles, California. Formerly a staffer at Vanity Fair, she has contributed to Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, and others. Follow her on Instagram @EAHanks.
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