Jillian Lauren - Everything You Ever Wanted

A PLUME BOOK

EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED

JILLIAN LAUREN is the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Some Girls: My Life in a Harem and the novel Pretty . Some Girls has been translated into eighteen languages. Jillian has an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times , The Paris Review , Vanity Fair , Los Angeles Magazine , Salon , Elle , and The Moth Anthology , among others. She is a regular storyteller with The Moth. Lauren blogs about motherhood and writing at www.jillianlauren.com. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Weezer bass player Scott Shriner, and their son.

Praise for Everything You Ever Wanted

Laurens writing is brave and honest, and she calls out hypocrisy wherever she sees it.

Kirkus Reviews

Lauren proves she is a master storyteller.

Catherine Burns, artistic director of The Moth

In this ferociously brave, funny, and heartwarming memoir, Jillian Lauren parses the challenges and rewards of motherhood with true grace and humility. No other parenting book has ever made me feel so validated about the big, messy, beautiful picture of what it means to care for another human being. I closed the cover in awe of both the author and of parenthood itself.

Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance

With humor and poignancy, Lauren interweaves her struggle to become a mother with her own story of being adopted as an infant. Its a love storybetween Lauren and her rock star husband and also between a couple and their new son. Like all great love stories, the beauty is in the struggle.

Kristen Howerton, founder of Rage Against the Minivan

A transformative, unflinching account of the creation of an adoptive family. Jillian and Scott and their son, Tariku, show uspainful, frustrating, and joyful step-by-stephow to attach, heal, listen, trust, and then let go. A testament to the fierce and fallible journey of any mother. Reads like a novel, moves you like any great story of survival would, to tears of joy and triumph.

Jamie Lee Curtis

Praise for Some Girls

Riveting... [Lauren writes] with humor, candor, and a reporters gimlet eye.

Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prizewinning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad

[Lauren] is a deft storyteller and not afraid to provide candid descriptions of her life.

The Miami Herald

Lauren... imparts equal parts poignant reflection and wisdom into her enlightening book. A gritty, melancholy memoir leavened by the authors amiable, engrossing narrative tenor.

Kirkus Reviews

Some Girls is a heart-stoppingly thrilling story told by a punk rock Scheherazade. Lauren writes with such lyrical easethe book is almost musical, an enduring melody of what it is to be a woman.

Margaret Cho

Also by Jillian Lauren

Pretty

Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

PLUME

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

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New York, New York 10014

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Copyright 2015 by Jillian Lauren

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Excerpt from Somewhere Thats Green from Little Shop of Horrors , music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman. Copyright 1982 by Universal - Geffen Music, Trunksong Music, Ltd., and Menken Music. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

Excerpt from Good Morning Starshine (from Hair ), music by Galt MacDermot, words by James Rado and Gerome Ragni. Copyright 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970 (copyrights renewed) by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Galt MacDermot, Nat Shapiro, and EMI U Catalog Inc. All rights administered by EMI U Catalog Inc. (Publishing) and Alfred Music (Print). All rights reserved.

Cover design: Rachel Willey

Cover photograph courtesy of the author

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING- IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Lauren, Jillian.

Everything you ever wanted : a memoir / Jillian Lauren.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-698-16855-8

1. Lauren, Jillian. 2. WomenCaliforniaBiography. 3. Identity (Psychology) 4. Women novelists, AmericanBiography. I. Title.

PS3612.A9442275Z46 2015

813'.6dc23

[B]

2015005344

Penguin is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In that spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the authors alone.

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

Neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The ideas, procedures, and suggestions contained in this book are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician. All matters regarding your health require medical supervision. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book.

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For Tariku Moon