Kind of a bummer! I'd expected more craft than just memoir in I Came All This Way to Meet You, but perhaps that's my own fault.

I really enjoyed Jami Attenberg's voice and perspective in this book. Books about writing can often be navel-gaze-y, but this was unique and refreshing.

Reading Jami Attenberg's memoir, I kept thinking it was unlike any memoir I'd ever read. Above all, it's a story of increasing dedication to the art of fiction, to an identity as a writer. Everything else is subordinate to her work, and everything else except family and friendships is transitory, even the idea of home. Many male artists have told a story like this, but Attenberg brings a womanist take to the "selfish artist" trope without relying on some cathartic event to create her identity. Instead, she writes about the logistics of making time and space for her work, of dedication to selling her work, of understanding how she works. The book hops around in time, but I found this pleasing along with the reflective bits toward the end where Attenberg tries to understand some of her less-than-happy behaviors.
Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance review copy. (less)

As the daughter of a traveling salesman, Jami Attenberg was born to hit the road. In this memoir, Attenberg discusses how her wanderings have impacted her writing and vice versa. It’s a beautifully written, thought-provoking exploration of how one writer found her voice. I also enjoyed Attenberg's contemplations on writing and her experiences in the publishing industry. It definitely made me want to go back and reread some of her past books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the advanced copy. Unfortunately, I could not get into this book. The first few pages felt a little manic and I could not stay engaged with the material. I attempted the audiobook too. This book just isn't for me and it happens! Giving a neutral review since I could not complete.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ecco, and LibroFM, for providing both print and audio versions of Jami Attenberg’s memoir, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home.

Author Jami Attenberg examines what it means to live a creative life, especially during times of doubt and struggle. Although previously published, Attenberg didn’t obtain commercial success until her third novel. The Middlesteins ( brilliant and worth adding to your TBR pile) was published in 2012. Attenberg details changes that she made that helped this success, such as changing agents and marketing strategies. I think in many situations, people would feel defeated if their first or second novel wasn’t a big success, but Attenberg shows that persistence and a shift in strategy can pay-off dividends.

I Came All This Way to Meet You is pitched as a book for writers, and it does give great insight into the publishing process and writer’s life, but really I think it is a great memoir to encourage anyone to keep following their dreams, no matter what they may be. Attenberg has tenacity. She has a love for writing that keeps her going even when money is scarce and times are tough. I liked reading about her travels around the United States and how different landscapes and communities inspired her imagination. I was reminded to take opportunities in whatever form they may present themselves and to focus on the present while working towards the future.

This was good! I’ve liked Jami Attenberg’s writing for a really long time and was curious to see what her non-fiction would look like. I don’t read a ton of author memoirs but I thought this was a great blend of memoir and the writing process. She seems really cool and I love the story I love that her story wasn’t an overnight success…she really was vulnerable and thoughtful about what she was able to share. I don’t think you need to be a fan of the authors to enjoy this, but if you are it was cool to hear about her different experiences with different publishing houses and how the books caught on.

After seven novels (including Saint Mazie, All Grown Up, and All This Could Be Yours, all of which I loved), Attenberg's first memoir is a a mash-up...a bit behind-the-scenes of the writing life, a bit travelogue (she's got serious wanderlust and moves around a lot), and a bit story of depression and finding your way. Attenberg's writing style goes down easy and I could read pretty much anything she writes. I loved experiencing the struggle it is to become a successful literary fiction author (i.e. not a Stephen King or John Grisham), the grind of promoting books, and literary friendships and networking). Even though I don't have dreams of writing a book myself, I still loved learning how she approaches her craft. The travelogue portions were slightly weaker, but overall a great book for fans of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird and Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

My review will appear in the spring issue of Lilith Magazine. Excerpted here:

The real triumph of I Came All This Way to Meet You is Attenberg’s willingness to explore all the things that make up a life: the hard things, the small things, the fun things. It’s vulnerable – almost countercultural! – to write about a life that is, by all means, fairly average. But she does it with a confidence in her own voice and story that makes it a worthwhile read.

I'll read anything Jami Attenberg writes, but this was a really fascinating view into her mind and what it means to be a writer. The subtitle here (writing myself home) is so fitting, as each essay is about her seeking a literal and figurative home for herself through her words and in her physical world. Her life was not easy or simple in any way, but she writes about her past with a level of forgiveness that made me think of Cheryl Strayed and other fierce and independent women who don't need us to know that they ended up where they needed to be. I like that nothing is resolved in this by the end- because life isn't about resolution. It's about taking what we can from our experiences, and living the life we have to the fullest. I think her travels and experiences shaped her writing, but also shaped a worldview that may be nothing like mine, but offers me glimpses into how to be my own independent grown-up self. Plus the writing is stellar. Five star read for sure.

In I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home, Jami Attenberg's frankness and transparency grip readers, as they watch her struggle and succeed, inching closer towards her goal of writing.

Her first essay focuses on her relationship with her mother, and I was touched by the way she honestly and gently shares. Attenberg's skill is apparent, and I was utterly delighted by what I view to be a perfectly formed sentence in chapter two, one that goes on and on with the sparsest of punctuation but heaps of interest when describing her hometown.

This is a love story about writing, with affirmations and encouragement for others, told through her travels and relationships.

(I received a digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Jami Attenberg’s I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home is a much-needed guide to the writing world entrenched in modern publishing mores, social media personas, and the ceaseless pressure to produce. Through Attenberg’s experienced, not yet jaded, lens we see her writing landscape and it is all-encompassing: her travel, her friendships, her work, her family, her creativity, her nourishment. As she leads workshops overseas to supplement her income (a shocker, but something I was thankful she shared to her audience who may have possessed altering visions of her writing life), and travels extensively to promote upcoming books the hotels and flights begin to bleed into one another. Attenberg begins, continues, to question the price of writing, especially if her health and creative process are diminished.

As a reader who is similarly aged to Attenberg, also questioning “at what cost?,” and recognizing the privilege to do so, I was drawn like a moth to the flame to the title. I am also bananas! for titles about writing, creativity, aging, and finding one’s sweet spot in the midst of life.

Fans of Cheryl Strayed, Elizabeth Gilbert, Julia Cameron, Glennon Doyle may enjoy as well as readers of atypical writing guides.

I think I like Attenberg' s nonfiction better than her fiction. Thoughtful and peppered with dry wit and wisdom and a bit of irony. She captures the writer's life through each of her books and experiences as she struggles for success. Interesting and readable writing. I'm A fan.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

I feel like I’ve been in therapy with Jami Attenberg and I liked it! 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝗪𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 is her memoir of a creative life that at various times left her broke, sleeping on other people’s couches, drifting around the world, doubting herself, and often alone. Through it all, no matter what else was going on in her world, Attenberg always looked for the next story, the next seed of an idea. Adversity never took her focus off of writing.⁣
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The essays jump around in time, and that might have bothered me in print, but it didn’t on audio. The common thread running through Attenberg’s book and her life was the power of the written word and how it always seemed to save her, eventually truly becoming her home. I appreciated her honesty, especially in her openness about the life she’s lived, and the loneliness that often haunted her. ⁣
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I started this book in print and found it a little slow, so I switched to the audiobook, flying through the rest. Beautiful narration by @xesands made 𝘐 𝘊𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘶 a memoir I definitely recommend listening to. 4.25⭐️'s ⁣
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Many thanks to #eccobooks, #harperaudio, and #netgalley for the ARCs of #icameallthiswaytomeetyou.

- I CAME ALL THIS WAY TO MEET YOU is less a recounting of Attenberg's life, and more a consideration of how she got here and how she became the person she is today - someone fully devoted to art and life and the joy of community.
- I appreciated the exploration of the mental effects of coming up in the art and literature world as a woman, and particularly a woman mostly doing it on her own. She looks at both the joys of going solo and choosing your own path, and the pitfalls and scary moments.

I follow the author on social media and receive her newsletter so it was a pleasure to read this memoir. Attenberg is smart and charming and comes across as unflinchingly honest but not self-absorbed, which is difficult for a memoir. I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir from start to finish. I especially appreciate how she includes entertaining slice-of-life stories with tidbits about the craft and business of writing. She dispenses wisdom in an easygoing way that never comes across as preachy.

I am always interested in whatever Jami Attenberg writes. I live in the same town that she grew up in. I attended her reading from The Middlesteins that was held at her childhood library. My fascination with Attenberg continues after reading I Came All This Way to Meet You. Attenberg has survived multiple kinds of turmoil in her life and continues to be a magnificent writer. Her memoir is sometimes shocking, but leaves her reader hopeful that Attenberg's future is bright.

I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg is a memoir exploring the pivotal events in her lief that created the path to where she is today. Jami shares her childhood in the Midwest and how watching her father travel for his sales jobs galvanized her love of traveling the world. We follow Jami as she follows her wanderlust across the world and how that has impacted her in all manners. On top of that, we get a behind-the-scenes view of being a writer, highlighting the challenges and growth in her craft.

This was a wonderful memoir and the writer clearly has a way to get eyes on the page. This felt bubbly with parts where it felt like a travel blog or podcaster telling you their story. Yet, it was also reflective on how the seemingly exciting or glamorous parts of her life were not all that it esemed and the authors internal struggles with depression. You can certainly see and empathize with writers as it is inherently a craft filled with criticism at every turn. The memoir highlights how this can tear you down, leaving you to question your every line and that the only solution is to eventually trust yourself and your work.

I think this book is great for those that have wanted to learn more about what it can take to be a writer and what the daily process looks like for writing. For those that have read Bird by Bird. this is in a similar vein and I certainly learned a lot as someone who also writes professional (albeit a scientific context). Regardless, I think there is something in this memoir for anyone wanting to explore trusting themselves while also having some wanderlust!

Many thanks to the publisher Ecco and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I Came All This Way to Meet You
by Jami Attenberg
Pub Date: January 11, 2022
Ecco Press

Thanks to Ecco Press and NetGalley for the ARC. I was drawn to this book for the pure excellence of its writing and not that it was a memoir.
Exploring themes of friendship, independence, class, and drive, I Came All This Way to Meet You is an inspiring story of finding one’s way home—emotionally, artistically, and physically—and an examination of art and individuality that will resonate with anyone determined to listen to their own creative calling.
For me, the book was 5 stars but fizzled at the end.

I recommend this book. 4 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ecco Books and Harper Collins for gifting me a digital ARC of this memoir by Jami Attenberg. If you haven't read The Middlestein's and All This Could Be Yours - read them now! 4.5 stars for a great glimpse into this author's background, thought and writing process.

This is such an open, honest book about how the author became who she is now, and I'm sure there will be another book load of stories to come from her as she continues to grow and live her life. Ms. Attenberg looks at how her family, her life experiences and choices shaped her - and she gives us the good and bad, not just the pretty social media pics. This book is also part travelogue, as her wanderlust carries her around the world with us as her companions. I loved reading about the underground, otherworldly parts of cities that exist. If you are an aspiring author, this would be a must-read as well.

This book has made me all the more anxious to read her next fiction work!