I first started writing this book, I Am a Real Person, as therapy for myself. Although I’ve had help from various therapists and counsellors, there are some things that I have never been able to talk about or come to terms with, and writing this book has helped me. It tells of how and why I felt so worthless, even from a young age, and everything written is exactly how I remember it. From even before I was married, my life started to go downhill. At first, I believed it would pick up, but after years of abuse I came to the conclusion that it would never change, and I just wanted out. Until things went from bad to worse and something was said to me that made me realise I had to do something positive. I hope that my story will offer encouragement to anyone going through something similar. There is always a way out, however difficult it may seem.

Rocky was the reigning superstar of Hindi cinema in the 80s. The world was at his feet. Money followed, success followed and so did fame. But happiness eluded him. Emptiness manifested his behaviour into an unpleasant experience for others. The media called him the ‘bad boy’! Producers called him irresponsible! Gossip mongers called him Casanova! But medical professionals termed it ‘Depression’! Depression is a black dog that besets and pushes you from peak to nadir. In this troubled journey of ups and downs, meeting dead-end is almost a certainty. Many even fail to recover after hitting rock bottom. Did the protagonist meet the same fate? Or did he catch a straw?

She thought, brightly, This is the worst life decision I have ever made! And she marvelled at herself for a while, at the mystery of this person who’d just done this bizarre, inexplicable thing. Margot meets Robert. They exchange numbers. They text, flirt and eventually have sex – the type of sex you attempt to forget. How could one date go so wrong? Everything that takes place in Cat Person happens to countless people every day. But Cat Person is not an everyday story. In less than a week, Kristen Roupenian’s New Yorker debut became the most read and shared short story in their website’s history. This is the bad date that went viral. This is the conversation we’re all having. This gift edition contains photographs by celebrated photographer Elinor Carucci, who was commissioned by the New Yorker to capture the image that accompanied Kristen Roupenian’s Cat Person when it appeared in the magazine. You Know You Want This, Kristen Roupenian’s debut collection, will be published in February 2019.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Driving, wild and hilarious” (The Washington Post), here is the incredible “memoir” of the legendary actor, gambler, raconteur, and Saturday Night Live veteran. When Norm Macdonald, one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time, was approached to write a celebrity memoir, he flatly refused, calling the genre “one step below instruction manuals.” Norm then promptly took a two-year hiatus from stand-up comedy to live on a farm in northern Canada. When he emerged he had under his arm a manuscript, a genre-smashing book about comedy, tragedy, love, loss, war, and redemption. When asked if this was the celebrity memoir, Norm replied, “Call it anything you damn like.”

Infoselves delivers a multifaceted analysis of the commodification of self-identity online, from both a domination and a liberation perspective. Drawing on multiple resources, the book places its discussion of online identity within the larger context of self-identity evolution, arguing for the recognition of online identity as a legitimate component of the self-identity system. Advertising executive turned academic, Demetra Garbașevschi offers readers the means to understand the way our online identities are formed and used, to reflect on the future of self-identity, and to become more aware of the radical implications of our digital footprint. Readers will discover what it means to be an infoself in a deep digital context, from exploring the informational makeup of self-identity, to examining the various sources of identity information found online, to exposing the uses of this information through both latent and assertive self-commodification. Considering the many sources of information contributing to our identity narrative online, some beyond our direct control, managing the self is presented as one the greatest challenges of our digital present. The book includes illuminating discussions of a variety of topics within the subject of online identity, such as: Foundational concepts related to the idea of identity, including references to the works of Erik Erikson, symbolic interactionists, and social dramaturgy The evolution of online identity, with examinations of early and current viewpoints of the phenomenon Personal branding online as the epitome of self-commodification, with examples from online celebrity, micro-celebrity, and nano-celebrity Original research contributing to the larger discussion about how identities are constructed and performed through-the-line Perfect for graduate students in advertising, branding, and public relations, Infoselves also belongs on the bookshelves of those studying fields involving digital media. Working professionals in any of these areas will also benefit from this book’s insightful analyses of a variety of viewpoints on online identity.