Here’s my forthcoming book, The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious:
Advance Praise for The Bridge to Take:
“Lori Jakiela is the queen of the wise one-liner. As a memoirist she’s unsparing toward everyone–including herself–yet somehow always loving. Fiercely sad and heartbreakingly funny, The Bridge to Take When Things Get Serious is about the mystery of the people closest to us–how they drive us crazy and why we need them so much.”
– Stewart O’Nan, author of Emily, Alone and The Odds.
“This beautiful evocation of life with a fierce, hilarious, iconically mind-boggling mother is both heart-breaking and heart-expanding. Jakiela’s mother is drawn with such deep affection and honesty, you end up loving her, Jakiela, and all the other characters in this memoir. The book looks at what it means to be truly rooted and devoted to place, to parents as they age and eventually die, to husband and children who come along as a shocking surprise. Best of all, Lori Jakiela’s warm-hearted forgiveness of the staggeringly difficult moments that come to us in life is contagious. This is a highly original writer who commemorates life with great humor and a radical, poetic simplicity that allows you see your own life anew.” — Jane McCafferty, best-selling author of First You Try Everything and more
“Jakiela is on a lively quest to once and for all end the listlessness of life, and she has the strength to do it! This memoir will knock you out with its high energy, unstoppable humor, and stirring tenderness.”
– Deb Olin Unferth, author of Revolution and more
“Finally, a working-class memoir that tells the truth about mothers and daughters — and daughters and their wild lives and unexpected adventures — in language sharp as a broken bottle. Every page offers a moment, a scene, an insight, or some beautiful combination of the three, that made me laugh out loud or recoil in recognition. This is a brilliant book about what it means to grow up, to grow old, and to hold on.” –Alicia Erian, author of Towelhead and more
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Here’s my first memoir, Miss New York Has Everything
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY said:
“Don’t let the smiling stewardess on the cover fool you: Jakiela’s memoir has more in common with Chuck Klosterman than Coffee, Tea or Me? The early story focuses on the author’s 1970s childhood in a working-class Pennsylvania town, especially on her father, a factory worker who considered other people “cockroaches,” but doted on his pet miniature poodle. She dwells on her love of ’70s pop idols like Shaun Cassidy and explains that her decision to abandon a career as a journalist and writing teacher to become a flight attendant was inspired by a childhood admiration for Marlo Thomas and That Girl. Unsurprisingly, Jakiela discovers life in the skies isn’t really glamorous, and the job quickly takes an emotional toll. ‘My world started to shrink down to small spaces,’ Jakiela writes, an endless chain of jet cabins and hotel rooms. But there are also poignant moments in brief portraits of colleagues and passengers, and more than enough proof that Jakiela’s decision to pursue a writing career was the right move.” (Jan. 23, 2006)
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And here’s my most recent poetry collection, Spot the Terrorist!
