My First New York: Early Adventures in the Big City

From the staff of New York Magazine comes the perfect gift for the Manhattanite in all of us. My First New York is a glorious collection of recollections and reminiscences as fifty of the city’s most famous residents recapture the kicks and thrills of first arriving in the Big Apple. Actors and athletes, rock stars and porn stars, writers, artists, and politicos—from Yogi Berra to Liza Minnelli, from Chloe Sevigny to Andy Samberg to Diane Von Furstenberg—they all share their hilarious, touching, frightening, amazing early big city adventures in My First New York.

From some of the most remarkable people who have called the city home, come fifty-six candid accounts of long nights out and wild nights in, of first dates and lost loves, of memorable meals and miserable jobs, of slow walks up Broadway and fast subway rides downtown. From a mix of actors, artists, comedians, entrepreneurs, politicians, sports stars, writers, and more, these moving and memorable stories combine to form an impressionistic history of New York since the Great Depression, an accidental encyclopedia of New York hotspots through the ages, and a testament to a larger revelation, one that new arrivals of all stripes and eras have experienced again and again: what the songwriter Rufus Wainwright calls "having cracked the code of living life to the fullest."

“Celebrate[s] all the quirkiness, beauty, creativity, eccentricity, and artistry that is New York City.” - Pop Matters

“MY FIRST NEW YORK captures the experience of coming to New York for the first time that, whether traumatic or ecstatic, is always life-changing. . . . No matter the topic or theme, each essay is moving because it offers a glimpse into an individual’s life, in all its beauty or tragedy. I am impressed with the utter honesty of many of the authors. . . . Geat vignettes of a mercurial city and humanity’s attempt to succeed in it. Reading My First New York will make you believe in the millions of dreams that make up this vibrant city, and just maybe inspire you to imagine a dream of your own.” - Blogcritics

“These small, glittering essays make a reader feel that the sheer force of all these dreams, this persistence, might in fact rub off on you.” - Los Angeles Times

“No matter how rich and famous they become, newcomers generally suffer through the most absurd living conditions as a rite of passage to becoming New Yorkers. It’s proven by the boldfaced contributors to My First New York.” - New York Post

“A breezy celebration of the city. . . . 50 famous residents describe their first days in the city—days variously exhilarating, overwhelming, terrifying, or inspiring, but invariably unforgettable.” - Booklist

“As wacky and wonderful as NYC itself.” - Modern Tonic

“At time hilarious and heartbreaking, all these stories are inspiring—just like life in NYC.” - Star