A New York Memoir

Product Description
A New York Memoir is about a life lived in New York City over a period of thirty years. The memoir begins in 1975, with author Richard Goodman's arrival in New York, an intimidated newcomer. It follows him through the years as he encounters some of the remarkable people one meets in New York, while harkening back to the inspiration the city provides, especially for artists and young writers. The memoir follows the author as he witnesses tragedies and then ruminates on growing old in New York. It tells of the joys and the difficulties of living in this remarkable city.

A New York Memoir is, essentially, a long love letter to the city. Like all great loves, this volume reflects passion, promise, hope, pain, regret and, ultimately, the author's pride.
This includes true stories of love, work, marriage, raising a child, becoming a writer, death, and friendship. Most of the stories in this effort take place there; those that do not are highly influenced by New York. The author has seen New York at its best and at its worst, when was it rich and freewheeling and when it fell on hard times and almost collapsed. He's seen it grievously wounded, and seen it pick itself back up again with the help of the entire world and with its own limitless moxie.
This is a very personal story set against the backdrop of a massive city of unmatchable energy and of sheer, brute authority and inspiration. The book ends with a long remembrance of the author's mother who came to New York after many travails and was rescued by the city. This is the story of Richard Goodman's encounter with New York.
**See Richard Goodman read an excerpt from
A New York Memoir titled, "Elegy for an English Bike," here.
"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS9sMJXJ1L8"
Review
"One can learn much from this man who feels tender toward cobblestones and old women, nostalgic about a daughter's childhood, frightened at the prospect of dying alone―a rare individual who, with honesty, sensuousness, and keen observation, turns yearning and remembrance into art."
Susan Vreeland, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue

". . . In peerless prose, Goodman's A New York Memoir conveys you to a writers' enclave in Soho (where you lose your soul to love), the kitchen of a French chef, your friend Ann's apartment in Greenwich Village -- even excursions to Maine and Provence, France. You'll never be the same again now that you've seen and heard and felt and thought with Richard. You'll be surprised at the long, precise reach of your metaphors now. Time-travel has become as supple as navigating New York. Your own life takes on some sort of shape, or promises to. A double life, maybe a multiple life, skating on sentences smooth as glass--that's what you'll get, not just a book. I promise."
Sena Jeter Naslund, author of Ahab's Wife and Four Spirits"Richard Goodman's rapturous book will make you miss New York City even if you've never been there. It's a highly poetic tribute to a city that, while it can overwhelm you, is still the ultimate city of dreams, an incubator for anyone who's ever fostered a dream of revealing the best in themselves. Richard Goodman's dazzling book made me realize that once you've lived in New York, you can never leave, no matter where you go."
Rebecca Walker, author of Black, White, and Jewish and Baby Love

About the Author
Richard Goodman is the author of French Dirt: The Story of a Garden in the South of France and The Bicycle Diaries: One New Yorker's Journey Through 9-11. He has written articles and essays for The New York Times, Harvard Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Vanity Fair and other national publications. He lives in New Orleans, USA.