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Shop nowThe Futilitarians
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Learn moreA memoir of friendship and literature chronicling a search for meaning and comfort in great books, and a beautiful path out of grief.
Anne Gisleson had lost her twin sisters, had been forced to flee her home during Hurricane Katrina, and had witnessed cancer take her beloved father. Before she met her husband, Brad, he had suffered his own trauma, losing his partner and the mother of his son to cancer in her young thirties. "How do we keep moving forward," Anne asks, "amid all this loss and threat?" The answer: "We do it together."
Anne and Brad, in the midst of forging their happiness, found that their friends had been suffering their own losses and crises as well: loved ones gone, rocky marriages, tricky child-rearing, jobs lost or gained, financial insecurities or unexpected windfalls. Together these resilient New Orleanians formed what they called the Existential Crisis Reading Group, which they jokingly dubbed "The Futilitarians." From Epicurus to Tolstoy, from Cheever to Amis to Lispector, each month they read and talked about identity, parenting, love, mortality, and life in post-Katrina New Orleans,
In the year after her father's death, these living-room gatherings provided a sustenance Anne craved, fortifying her and helping her blaze a trail out of her well-worn grief. More than that, this fellowship allowed her finally to commune with her sisters on the page, and to tell the story of her family that had remained long untold. Written with wisdom, soul, and a playful sense of humor, The Futilitarians is a guide to living curiously and fully, and a testament to the way that even from the toughest soil of sorrow, beauty and wonder can bloom.
Anne Gisleson's work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Oxford American, The Believer, Ecotone, and The Los Angeles Times and has been selected for inclusion in several anthologies, including Best American Non-Required Reading. For years, Anne was chair of the Creative Writing Program at the internationally-renowned New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. In 2005, she co-founded Antenna in New Orleans, where she lives.
Anne Gisleson's work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Oxford American, The Believer, Ecotone, and The Los Angeles Times and has been selected for inclusion in several anthologies, including Best American Non-Required Reading. For years, Anne was chair of the Creative Writing Program at the internationally-renowned New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. In 2005, she co-founded Antenna in New Orleans, where she lives.
Reviews
"Moving and complete and very much worth reading . . . Post-Katrina New Orleans itself is an essential component of this world; it lives on the page in pungent detail, with all its disastrous losses and fragile hopes . . . An estimable book."—Emily Fox Gordon, New York Times Book Review "Gisleson brings New Orleans itself into sharp focus, lingering lovingly on its places, its people, and its history . . . but she [also] goes universal in her debut . . . The Futilitarians tackles hopelessness, but it never succumbs to it. Gisleson writes with wit, warmth, and a spiritual devotion to books that never comes across as preachy . . . This search for purpose and connection amid chaos and loss permeates even the most heart-wrenching moments of The Futilitarians--and it's what turns the book from a meditation on reading to a celebration of being."—Jason Heller, NPR "Truly great writing . . . Never does Gisleson dip a toe into the clichéd or the saccharine. Employing a Dave Eggers-esque eye for specificity and the absurd, she conjures the strange beauty of her world . . . An affecting memoir."—Keziah Weir, ELLE "A healing memoir . . . Reeling from deaths, crises, and trauma, Gisleson and a group of friends formed the Existential Crisis Reading Group. In The Futilitarians, Gisleson movingly recounts how they found comfort in the words of Tolstoy, Kafka, and other greats."—Real Simple "The meetings themselves are absorbing enough to make you crave an invitation, thanks to Gisleson's slyly gorgeous writing. But she also uses them to profound effect as a kind of scaffolding, linear poles through which to loop her personal story . . . New Orleans has a visceral presence in these pages, a malleable face, at times a defiant gaiety . . . Refreshingly, Gisleson doesn't offer answers so much as ask good questions . . Her story isn't an easy, read-in-a-couple-of-gulps proposition . . . Yet it offers a generous companionship, the solace of being seen."—Dawn Raffel, San Francisco Chronicle—Sam Lipsyte, New York Times bestselling author of The Ask "Boozy, brilliant, beautiful, tragic, and deeply affecting, The Futilitarians is my favorite memoir of the year."
—Jami Attenberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Middlesteins "A wonderful and profoundly moving personal memoir of loss and resilience, and an unforgettable tribute to the great good that comes from reading great books (and talking about them!) Through long evenings of conversation fueled by food, wine, and more wine, the Existential Crisis Reading Group finds sustaining joy in literature, art, community, and yes, family. This book will move you to tears, to laughter, and to joy--and will leave you with a renewed awe for all the unexpected gifts that being alive allows, including the special joy of finding a great book like The Futilitarians."
—Nina Sankovitch, author of Tolstoy and the Purple Chair "Gisleson's memoir is a compassionate journey through personal grief, as well as a smart compendium of literature . . . What ensues is dynamic examination of human suffering and human joy . . . Most moving is her hard look at her twin sisters' lives . . . Her narrative is a wonderful look at friendship and grief, as well as an enlightening personal journey."—Publishers Weekly "An engrossing memoir chronicling a search for spiritual healing . . . A graceful narrative that seamlessly interweaves philosophical reflections and intimate revelations."—Kirkus Reviews "With beautiful writing, Gisleson effortlessly weaves existentialism around narrative, challenging and engaging readers with a seamless blend of theory and memoir. Writer and educator Gisleson's first book-length work weighs heavy with life's toughest questions and then instantaneously elevates the soul with hope, making for a charming, captivating, and incredibly smart must-read."—Melissa Norstedt, Booklist "[The Futilitarians] seamlessly melds together Gisleson's story, New Orleans' ongoing recovery, and existential discovery."—Carla Jean Whitley, BookPage "Readers interested in expanding their reading lists, as well as those fascinated by New Orleans, will find this a meaty work."—Rachael Dreyer, Library Journal Expand reviews