Life Up Close

Vivid descriptions of friends, family, travel, food, even barbers fill the landscape in this new memoir by Stanley Ely. Twenty-two engrossing essays present snapshots of a life well lived while answering the underlying question: How did a repressed, irritatingly well-behaved young Texan harness the drive to travel far away to college, survive the U.S. Army, embark on several careers in New York, and end up a senior gay man with a sweet cat and the publication of his sixth book? With an open and inquiring mind, Ely shares a good-natured but often deeply reflective take on these matters and the crossing between two centuries. You'll be glad to know him as he takes a long honest look back at high and low points in his life's journey and loves (or absence thereof). 


Praise for Living Alone Creatively 

"Ely makes his subjects come alive vivid and likable." 

Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People 


Stanley Ely is a teacher and the author of five previously published books: In Jewish Texas, Perfect Mondays, In the Steps of Mister Proust, Living Alone Creatively, and Ten Ways to Your Cat's Happiness. A native Texan and graduate of Northwestern University and Hunter College, Ely lives today in New York City. He is celebrating his 80th birthday with the publication of this memoir.