“The Pony Problem” captures many of the qualities that distinguish Crosley’s pieces from the 21st century’s personal-essay glut. She’s too nostalgia-prone to get rid of them, too embarrassed to display them.

If a guy said, “I have something for you,” she’d reply, “Is it a pony?” Though she refers to her equine quip as “a nervous tic and a cheap joke,” she also notes that “on our second date, if I ask again, I’m pretty sure I’m getting a pony.” Unable to throw them out, she leaves them to languish in a drawer. And yet she's still very much herself, and it's great to have her back―and not a moment too soon (or late, for that matter).īooks will be sold before and signed at the event at the American Writers Museum.The opening essay of Sloane Crosley’s bestselling debut, “ I Was Told There’d Be Cake,” involves an accidental collection of toy ponies Crosley had received over the years from men she dated. LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE arrives on the tenth anniversary of 'I Was Told There'd be Cake,' and Crosley's essays have managed to grow simultaneously more sophisticated and even funnier. Crosley has taken up the gauntlets thrown by her predecessors―Dorothy Parker, Nora Ephron, David Sedaris―and crafted something rare, affecting, and true. And as her subjects become more serious, her essays deliver not just laughs but lasting emotional heft and insight. In LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE, whether it's scaling active volcanoes, crashing shivas, playing herself on 'Gossip Girl,' befriending swingers, or squinting down the barrel of the fertility gun, Crosley continues to rise to the occasion with unmatchable nerve and electric one-liners. More of a blazer, really.įans of 'I Was Told There'd Be Cake' and 'How Did You Get This Number' know Sloane Crosley's life as a series of relatable but madcap misadventures. The characteristic heart and punch-packing observations are back, but with a newfound coat of maturity. Bestselling author Sloane Crosley presents LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE, a brand-new collection of essays filled with her trademark hilarity, wit, and charm.īestselling author Sloane Crosley presents LOOK ALIVE OUT THERE, a brand-new collection of essays filled with her trademark hilarity, wit, and charm.

Sloane crosley essays