About the Book
Heartfelt, earnest, and humorous, the essays in Everything We Don't Know examine the journey of growing up in contemporary America. Aaron Gilbreath contemplates the ocean-bound debris from Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, his nostalgia for the demolished buildings of his youth, quitting smoking, the etymology of the word "radical," and more. A deftly-crafted debut from a wise, bold voice.
Aaron Gilbreath's essays have appeared in Harper's, the New York Times, Paris Review, Vice, Tin House, the Believer, Oxford American, and elsewhere.
About the Author :
Aaron Gilbreath is an essayist, journalist and burrito enthusiast. His essays have appeared in Harper s, New York Times, Paris Review, Vice, The Morning News, Saveur, Tin House, The Believer, Oxford American, Kenyon Review, Slate, Virginia Quarterly Review, Narratively, and Brick. His essay \ ra-di-k?l\ from Hotel Amerika is a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2013, and Dreams of the Atomic Era, from the Cincinnati Review, is a Notable in Best American Essays 2011. He lives in Portland, Oregon."
Review :
"I ve been jonesing for the next great collection of personal essays, and Aaron Gilbreath s "Everything You Don't Know" cures my pangs. Booze, drugs, failed relationships, poverty, knee-jerk travel, desperation, joy, music, and recoveryit s like a primer on late twentieth/early twenty-first century American living, written with honesty, astuteness, and self-deprecation. I loved this collection."
George Singleton, author of "Calloustown"
"Aaron Gilbreath s first collection of essays, "Everything We Don t Know," is a rowdy, exuberant, obsessive and often hilarious examination of the ennui and energy of a youth spent rambling through the wild west and other meaningful landscapes. Combining a novelist s understanding of narrative structure and pacing with the essayist s digressive talents, Gilbreath creates a voice that embodies the best journalistic qualities of Hunter S. Thompson, Mary Karr, and Joan Didion. Gilbreath s essays combine humorous, unsentimental, unflinching prose with rigorous research, harrowing drama, and confessional moments of deep reflection. "Everything We Don t Know" is a testament to the adage that the greatest gift any writer possesses is a curious mind; and the abundant fruits of Gilbreath s curiosity end up being the greatest gift of this book."
Steven Church, founding editor of The Normal School and author of "One with the Tiger"
"Aaron Gilbreath s new collection of essays shatters the tenets of memoir, and leaves the shards out in the sun to stew, before putting them back together in ways more frazzled, distressed, hilarious, scarred, and thereby more human, and true. Along the way, Gilbreath s exhilaratingly cockeyed meditations on the seemingly mundane detritus of our worldwhen leashed to engagements of friends, jobs, lovers, family, strange music and stranger architectureare allowed to dovetail with (in his words), these mythic notions [that] colonize your head. I, for one, am grateful to have had my head colonized by these wonderful essays."
Matthew Gavin Frank, author of "The Mad Feast" and "Preparing the Ghost""
"I ve been jonesing for the next great collection of personal essays, and Aaron Gilbreath s Everything You Don't Know cures my pangs. Booze, drugs, failed relationships, poverty, knee-jerk travel, desperation, joy, music, and recoveryit s like a primer on late twentieth/early twenty-first century American living, written with honesty, astuteness, and self-deprecation. I loved this collection."
George Singleton, author of Calloustown
"Aaron Gilbreath s first collection of essays, Everything We Don t Know, is a rowdy, exuberant, obsessive and often hilarious examination of the ennui and energy of a youth spent rambling through the wild west and other meaningful landscapes. Combining a novelist s understanding of narrative structure and pacing with the essayist s digressive talents, Gilbreath creates a voice that embodies the best journalistic qualities of Hunter S. Thompson, Mary Karr, and Joan Didion. Gilbreath s essays combine humorous, unsentimental, unflinching prose with rigorous research, harrowing drama, and confessional moments of deep reflection. Everything We Don t Know is a testament to the adage that the greatest gift any writer possesses is a curious mind; and the abundant fruits of Gilbreath s curiosity end up being the greatest gift of this book."
Steven Church, founding editor of The Normal School and author of One with the Tiger
"Aaron Gilbreath s new collection of essays shatters the tenets of memoir, and leaves the shards out in the sun to stew, before putting them back together in ways more frazzled, distressed, hilarious, scarred, and thereby more human, and true. Along the way, Gilbreath s exhilaratingly cockeyed meditations on the seemingly mundane detritus of our worldwhen leashed to engagements of friends, jobs, lovers, family, strange music and stranger architectureare allowed to dovetail with (in his words), these mythic notions [that] colonize your head. I, for one, am grateful to have had my head colonized by these wonderful essays."
Matthew Gavin Frank, author of The Mad Feast and Preparing the Ghost"
