How to Get Along Without Me is a collection that summons the perversity and poignance of twentysomething dating lives from a bracingly wry and honest new literary voice. In a world designed for couples, the protagonists of these interconnected stories have easy access to acquaintances with benefits but no paths to emotional intimacy.

"Surprising, funny, and painfully true. How to Get Along Without Me is an anthropological account of dating, a catalogue of shitheads, a love letter to grandparents, and a reminder that those years of flailing in love and failing to launch are 'taut with possibility.'" -Christine Smallwood, author of The Life of the Mind

"Viciously funny and unashamedly sexy stories that plumb the loneliness of desire from first swipe to coupledom." -Danielle Lazarin, author of Back Talk

"The stories in How to Get Along Without Me are wary and beautiful, savage and true. Kate Axelrod has given us a book that is both modern and timeless." -Lindsay Hunter, author of Hot Springs Drive

"The perfect stories for reanimating your soul when you've gone numb online but still yearn to engage with the human condition." -Elisa Albert, Author of Human Blues

"Axelrod's prose is careful, intelligent, and contemplative..." -Publishers Weekly

About the Author
Kate Axelrod's writing can be found in Joyland, Narrative Magazine, Story Magazine and various other publications. She studied Creative Writing at Oberlin College. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Reviews

"An absorbing and engaging collection that's unmissable." -Electric Lit

"Kate Axelrod's brilliant stories of love and lust in the big city made me both nostalgic for and grateful to be long past my own reckless New York youth. Sharp, poignant, and full of perfect details, this is a debut to remember." -Andrew Martin, author of Early Work

"Surprising, funny, and painfully true. How to Get Along Without Me is an anthropological account of dating, a catalogue of shitheads, a love letter to grandparents, and a reminder that those years of flailing in love and failing to launch are 'taut with possibility.'" -Christine Smallwood, author of The Life of the Mind

"Viciously funny and unashamedly sexy stories that plumb the loneliness of desire from first swipe to coupledom."-Danielle Lazarin, author of Back Talk

"The stories in How to Get Along Without Me are wary and beautiful, savage and true. Kate Axelrod has given us a book that is both modern and timeless." -Lindsay Hunter, author of Hot Springs Drive

"The perfect stories for reanimating your soul when you've gone numb online but still yearn to engage with the human condition." -Elisa Albert, author of Human Blues

"I love interconnected short stories and I loved the stories in Kate Axelrod's collection How To Get Along Without Me. Axelrod has the gift of creating characters who seem so very much like either people I know or who I once was back when I was a person who went on dates."-Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl

"Axelrod's prose is careful, intelligent, and contemplative..." -Publishers Weekly

"Sharp yet grounded, this moving collection is a woman's lesson on modern heartache." -Booklist

"Kate Axelrod's characters navigate unrequited love, ghosting, career changes, and loss with an irresistible mix of vulnerability and self-knowledge-even when they're somewhat delusional... How to Get Along Without Me, weaves these stories into four discrete parts... each reminds us of the intensely mixed pleasure and pain of our twenties: the love, heartbreak, and friendship that are the gateway to the next phase of adult life." -BOMB Magazine

Book Information
ISBN 9781960988126
Author Kate Axelrod
Format Paperback
Page Count 190
Imprint Clash Books
Publisher Clash Books