“[A] stunning new memoir… thick with contemplation, packed with ideas and images rendered in exacting, evocative prose…. Brave and startlingly beautiful.” —Time Out New York
“Truthful, intelligent, and engrossing. This may become a generation's definitive account of books and the city.” —Jeff Sharlet, New York Times bestselling author of The Family
A loving and literate, honest and insightful look into the heart of that unsung heroine: the good girl. Fans of the strong narrative voices of such writers as Donna Tartt (The Secret History, The Little Friend), Nell Freudenberger (Lucky Girls, The Dissident), and Amy Bloom (Come to Me, A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You), as well as books such as The Nanny Diaries, Prep, and The Devil Wears Prada, will love Not That Kind of Girl: Carlene Bauer’s hilarious and touching memoir of God, books, and rock and roll.
How does a girl raised on Bible verses and praise songs find her own voice in the static of punk rock and the pages of Sylvia Plath?
- Evangelical Upbringing: From Christian school and "dying to self" to discovering a world of music and literature her church warned her against.
- Faith and Doubt: A raw and honest exploration of what it means to question the only truth you’ve ever known, trading childhood certainty for the complexities of a life lived on your own terms.
- Gen X Coming-of-Age: Set against a backdrop of 80s and 90s culture, this is a story of finding your identity through The Smiths, Sylvia Plath, and the seismic shift from suburban South Jersey to New York City.
- A Good Girl’s Rebellion: An intelligent, witty, and heartfelt look at a quiet rebellion—not against rules, but for a bigger, more complicated life than the one she was offered.
"The tension between the sacred and the secular permeates every page of this heartfelt memoir. . . . Poignantly describe[s] the grace and beauty of ordinary moments."
