Leaving Before the Rains Come Leaving Before the Rains Come

Leaving Before the Rains Come

    • 4.2 • 188 Ratings
    • $6.99

Publisher Description

The New York Times Bestseller from the author of Travel Light, Move Fast

"One of the gutsiest memoirs I've ever read. And the writing--oh my god the writing."—Entertainment Weekly


A child of the Rhodesian wars and daughter of two deeply complicated parents, Alexandra Fuller is no stranger to pain. But the disintegration of Fuller’s own marriage leaves her shattered. Looking to pick up the pieces of her life, she finally confronts the tough questions about her past, about the American man she married, and about the family she left behind in Africa. A breathtaking achievement, Leaving Before the Rains Come is a memoir of such grace and intelligence, filled with such wit and courage, that it could only have been written by Alexandra Fuller.

Leaving Before the Rains Come begins with the dreadful first years of the American financial crisis when Fuller’s delicate balance—between American pragmatism and African fatalism, the linchpin of her unorthodox marriage—irrevocably fails. Recalling her unusual courtship in Zambia—elephant attacks on the first date, sick with malaria on the wedding day—Fuller struggles to understand her younger self as she overcomes her current misfortunes. Fuller soon realizes what is missing from her life is something that was always there: the brash and uncompromising ways of her father, the man who warned his daughter that "the problem with most people is that they want to be alive for as long as possible without having any idea whatsoever how to live." Fuller’s father—"Tim Fuller of No Fixed Abode" as he first introduced himself to his future wife—was a man who regretted nothing and wanted less, even after fighting harder and losing more than most men could bear.

Leaving Before the Rains Come showcases Fuller at the peak of her abilities, threading panoramic vistas with her deepest revelations as a fully grown woman and mother. Fuller reveals how, after spending a lifetime fearfully waiting for someone to show up and save her, she discovered that, in the end, we all simply have to save ourselves.

An unforgettable book, Leaving Before the Rains Come is a story of sorrow grounded in the tragic grandeur and rueful joy only to be found in Fuller’s Africa.

GENRE
Biographies & Memoirs
RELEASED
2015
January 22
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
272
Pages
PUBLISHER
Penguin Publishing Group
SELLER
PENGUIN GROUP USA, INC.
SIZE
1.2
MB

Customer Reviews

Ccarr1999 ,

Leaving before the rains come

As an ex Zim, ex Zambian, ex South African married shakily to an American, who's family crest (a rampant lion) gold signet ring was stolen, I'm a bit shaky after this race of a read!
Was so comforted by the familiarity of The cast of characters and in awe of Fullers ability to take me on her lovely poignant journey.

davidsumnernyc ,

Gripping!

I couldn't put this book down. Amazing, insightful writer.

joewlaw ,

Great author, trying times.

I love this author and I feel her pain. She puts into words emotions and situations with the same care as a master painter. It's obvious, as anyone who has experienced the end of a marriage knows, that this was a trying piece. I can't wait for her next book and I wish her happiness.

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