{"product_id":"9780062434876","title":"Sunshine State","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLonglisted for the PEN\/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eCritics’ Best Books of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eAn NPR Best Book of the Year \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNYLON\u003c\/i\u003e Best Nonfiction Book of the Year \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eBuzzfeed \u003c\/i\u003eBest Nonfiction Book of the Year \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eAn \u003ci\u003eEntrophy Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eBrooklyn Rail\u003c\/i\u003e Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eBaltimore Beat \u003c\/i\u003eBest Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eParis Review\u003c\/i\u003e Staff Pick \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e Exciting Book for 2017\u003ci\u003e • \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e Culture Index Reccomendation\u003ci\u003e • \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eBuzzfeed\u003c\/i\u003e Most Exciting Book for 2017 \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/i\u003e Great 2017 Book Preview Pick \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eHuffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e 2017 Preview Pick \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNYLON \u003c\/i\u003eBest 10 Books of the Month \u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eA \u003ci\u003eLit Hub\u003c\/i\u003e 15 Books to Read This Month A \u003ci\u003ePoets \u0026amp; Writers \u003c\/i\u003eNew and Noteworth Selection • A \u003ci\u003ePW\u003c\/i\u003e Top 10 Spring Pick in Essays \u0026amp; Literary Criticism\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e• \u003c\/i\u003eAn Emma Straub Reccomendation on PBS\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“One of the themes of ‘Sunshine State,’ Sarah Gerard’s striking book of essays, is how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease…. The first essay is a knockout, a lurid red heart wrapped in barbed wire.... This essay draws blood.”   — Dwight Garner, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Unflinchingly candid memoir bolstered by thoughtfully researched history…. A nuanced and subtly intimate mosaic… her writing, lucid yet atmospheric, takes on a timeless ebb and flow.”   — Jason Heller, NPR.org\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Stunning.\"   — \u003ci\u003eRolling Stone\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“These large-hearted, meticulous essays offer an uncanny x-ray of our national psyche...  showing us both the grand beauty of our American dreams and the heartbreaking devastation they wreak.”  — Garth Greenwell, author of \u003ci\u003eWhat Belongs to You\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSarah Gerard follows her breakout novel, \u003ci\u003eBinary Star\u003c\/i\u003e, with the dynamic essay collection \u003ci\u003eSunshine State\u003c\/i\u003e, which explores Florida as a microcosm of the most pressing economic and environmental perils haunting our society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the collection’s title essay, Gerard volunteers at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a world renowned bird refuge.  There she meets its founder, who once modeled with a pelican on his arm for a Dewar’s Scotch campaign but has since declined into a pit of fraud and madness. He becomes our embezzling protagonist whose tales about the birds he “rescues” never quite add up. Gerard’s personal stories are no less eerie or poignant: An essay that begins as a look at Gerard’s first relationship becomes a heart-wrenching exploration of acquaintance rape and consent. An account of intimate female friendship pivots midway through, morphing into a meditation on jealousy and class.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith the personal insight of \u003ci\u003eThe Empathy Exams\u003c\/i\u003e, the societal exposal of \u003ci\u003eNickel and Dimed\u003c\/i\u003e, and the stylistic innovation and intensity of her own break-out debut novel \u003ci\u003eBinary Star\u003c\/i\u003e, Sarah Gerard’s \u003ci\u003eSunshine State\u003c\/i\u003e uses the intimately personal to unearth the deep reservoirs of humanity buried in the corners of our world often hardest to face. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47021664403696,"sku":"9780062434876","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780062434876_p0.jpg?v=1763631512","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780062434876","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}