E.M. Gallagher loved, dated, had her heart broken, and had her soul wooed in New York City for nearly two decades. From scribbling phone numbers onto cocktail napkins in the pre-iPhone era to swiping her little heart out in the hellscape of the apps, she ran the full romantic gamut. From charming bad boys, to emotional projects, to men who almost had it together, and men who absolutely did not. Again and again, she thought this might be it — until it very much wasn’t.

 

Alongside stories of late nights, bar make-outs, and near-misses, Gallagher examines the quieter heartbreak of staying in a career that never fit. From becoming a middle school teacher at twenty-two to living with the baseline thrum of unease that she had chosen a consolation-prize version of her life, she interrogates ambition, self-trust, and the courage it takes to admit you want more. This is a book about making out with boys in bars, staying too long in jobs you can’t stand, and the slow, uncomfortable, ultimately liberating process of choosing yourself.