Dear Friends,
This is just a medium-sized note of thanks to Crunchwrap Nation™ for your kind support this past week as I released my new book into the wild. Would you just look at this cheeseball???!
Last Tuesday, I had a launch event with literary folk hero and mensch Taffy Brodesser-Akner on a brutally cold night in New York that exceeded all dreams. It was a great crowd that included friends, family, colleagues, and strangers, including one Scandinavian attendee who used the Q&A portion to extol the virtues of Communism.
The following night, I finally got to meet the esteemed and brilliant Dr. Marcia Chatelain for a conversation at Politics & Prose – the D.C. bookstore I worshipped when I was an insufferable college kid. Again, the seats were filled with friends, family, colleagues, and strangers, including one woman who used the Q&A portion to explain that Botox was part of a social decay that she didn’t understand.
Two takeaways:
Getting people together, either to talk about what collectively ails us or just to hang out, is surprisingly cathartic these days.
Never underestimate the potential wackiness of live events.
It’s in that spirit of common good that I’m incredibly sad to postpone tonight’s event in Los Angeles. If you’re reading this from California, I hope you’re safe and I look forward to being back there in better times.
Media Appearances and General Good Times
I’m both proud (and embarrassed!) to share a few more pieces of Chandler Content from this past week!
I had a great conversation with Krys Boyd of Think (KERA/NPR) that aired last week. We talked about opportunity, the masculinity crisis, and the trouble with our troublesome zero-sum ways. It’s a full 45 minutes so buckle in!
I had the honor of being interviewed by Smithsonian Magazine’s own Jennie Rothenberg for a beautiful piece about the book and its historical throughlines from the Pilgrims and the founders to frontier and modern hustle culture. Jennie is a Crunchwrap favorite and such an elegant wordsmith.
I also appeared on C-SPAN’s After Words with Alissa Quart, who runs the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. She was the perfect partner for this kind of wonky discussion about how we cherish social mobility in the U.S. in the abstract and undercut it in the reality. Below is a clip of me from the show, weary from the snow and a few celebratory drinks, reading America the riot act.
I Have a Small Ask
Sorry to assign you homework, but the weird world of book promotion being filled with small battles, I would be so grateful if you’d consider:
Requesting the book from your local library!
LEAVING A REVIEW ON AMAZON
Posting about the book on social media and tagging me (@allmychandler on Instagram/X) if you get a copy or see one in the wild.
Upcoming Events
If you’re in the Tulsa area, I will be there TOMORROW NIGHT (1/15) for an event with Magic City Book and Gradient, the new Tulsa innovation hub.
For those curious, I did a lot of reporting in Oklahoma about the Dust Bowl Okies, the Trail of Tears, the Tulsa Race Riots, and Route 66, all of which intersect in fascinating and tragic ways. For the book, I interviewed an immigrant cannabis entrepreneur, an Osage educator, and a small business owner in the Greenwood District. At the event, writer and Tulsa institution Luke Leifeste and I will be talking about history and the legacy of opportunity in OK and beyond.
Philly Phriends, I will be at Head House Books next Thursday (1/23) for an event with Matt Katz, who is a journalist I admire (and envy) and whose 2024 podcast “Inconceivable Truth” absolutely blew my mind wide open. RSVP here!
That’s it from here! I look forward to returning to our regular Crunchwrap features at the end of the month! In the meantime, I am so grateful for your support.
With love,
Adam
Congratulations! Can't wait to read the new book.