How to Be a Person in the World ─ Ask Polly's Guide Through the Paradoxes of Modern Life

In the spirit of Tiny Beautiful Things and How to Be a Woman comes a collection of new, unpublished letters and advice by Heather Havrilesky, the author of the popular advice column Ask Polly featured onNew York magazine's blog, The Cut.

Is there ever a right time to cheat on your spouse? How do you rein in an overbearing mother? Will you ever stop dating half-hearted assholes? Should you put off having a baby for your career? When is it time to get your shit together and start making your art? (Hint: right now). Heather Havrilesky is here to guide you through the "what ifs" and "I don't knows" of modern life with the signature wisdom and tough love her readers have come to expect.

How to Be a Person in the World is a collection of never-before-published material, along with a few fan favorites from the archives. Whether she's responding to cheaters or loners, lovers or haters, the depressed or the down-and-out, Havrilesky writes with equal parts grace, humor, and compassion to remind you that even in your darkest moments you're not alone.

HEATHER HAVRILESKY is the author of the memoir Disaster Preparedness. She has written for New York magazine, The New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Magazine, Bookforum, The New Yorker, NPR's All Things Considered, and several anthologies. She was a TV critic at Salon for seven years. She lives in Los Angeles with a loud assortment of dependents, most of them nondeductible.