WATCH: CJ Hauser on Finding Joy in the Not-Knowing
The Author of The Crane Wife in Conversation with Isaac Fitzgerald at Greenlight Bookstore
Ten days after calling off her wedding, author CJ Hauser went on an expedition to Texas to study the whooping crane; after a week wading through the gulf, she realized she’d almost signed up to live someone else’s life. Her essay about this experience and her ensuing revelation, published by The Paris Review, became a viral sensation.
In her new book—an intimate, frank, and funny memoir-in-essays—Hauser releases herself from traditional narratives of happiness and goes looking for ways of living that leave room for the unexpected, making plenty of mistakes along the way: kissing internet strangers; officiating at a wedding; studying Katharine Hepburn to learn how not to lose yourself in a relationship; considering Florence Nightingale at a robot convention.
Hauser joins us in conversation with Isaac Fitzgerald (Dirtbag, Massachusetts) to celebrate the launch of The Crane Wife—a book for everyone whose life doesn’t look the way they thought it would, for everyone learning to find joy in the not-knowing.
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Founded in October 2009 by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Combining the best traditions of the neighborhood bookstore with carefully curated, community-minded events, Greenlight has earned a reputation as a literary destination. Greenlight has continued to serve its community during the COVID-19 pandemic with a diverse array of virtual events, and has been inspired by the movements for racial justice across the country to engage in the work of becoming a more anti-racist company. Learn more at greenlightbookstore.com or check them out @greenlightbklyn.
