Joyride

A Memoir

Susan Orlean

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English

Atlantic Books
01 November 2025

Biography; Autobiography: literary; Memoirs

'The story of my life is the story of my stories,' writes Susan Orlean in this extraordinary, era-defining memoir from one of the greatest practitioners of narrative nonfiction of our time. Joyride is a magic carpet ride through Orlean's life and career, where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment holds the potential for wonder. Throughout her storied career, her curiosity draws her to explore the most ordinary and extraordinary of places, from going deep inside the head of a regular ten-year-old boy for a legendary profile ('The American Man Age Ten') to reporting on a woman who owns twenty-seven tigers, from capturing the routine magic of Saturday night to climbing Mt. Fuji.

While Orlean has always written her way into other people's lives in order to understand the human experience, Joyride is her most personal book ever - a searching journey through finding her feet as a journalist, recovering from the excruciating collapse of her first marriage, falling head-over-heels in love again, becoming a parent while mourning the decline of her own mother, sojourning to Hollywood for films based on her work including Adaptation and Blue Crush, and confronting mortality. Joyride is also a time machine to a bygone era of journalism, from Orlean's bright start in the golden age of alt-weeklies to her career-making days working alongside icons such as Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, David Remnick, Anna Wintour, Sonny Mehta and Jonathan Karp - forces who shaped the media industry as we know it today.

Infused with Orlean's signature warmth and wit, Joyride is a must-read for anyone who hungers to start, build and sustain a creative life.

By: Susan Orlean
Imprint: Atlantic Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Export/Airside
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781838955502
ISBN 10: 183895550X
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 01 November 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Susan Orlean has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1992. She is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Library Book, Rin Tin Tin, Saturday Night and The Orchid Thief, which was made into the Academy Award-winning film Adaptation. She lives with her family and her animals in Los Angeles and may be reached at SusanOrlean.com and on Substack.

Reviews for Joyride: A Memoir

For anyone who's asked - and haven't we all - ""How does she write like that?,"" this wise and exuberant book is the answer. It's funny, as well. Just masterful -- David Sedaris A spry, entertaining memoir/writing workshop by a nonfiction artist at the top of her game * Kirkus Reviews (starred review) * Enthralling and inspirational...[a] fine and heartfelt saga * Observer on THE LIBRARY BOOK * Orlean, a longtime New Yorker writer, has been captivating us with human stories for decades, and her latest book is a wide-ranging, deeply personal and terrifically engaging investigation * Washington Post on THE LIBRARY BOOK * An exemplary work of creative non-fiction... I can't recommend this book highly enough * Scotland on Sunday on THE LIBRARY BOOK * Susan Orlean has long been one of our finest storytellers -- David Grann