I Wrote This Book Because I Love You: Essays

<i>New York Times</i> essayist and author of <i>We Learn Nothing</i>, Tim Kreider trains his virtuoso writing and singular power of observation on his (often befuddling) relationships with women.<br><br>Psychologists have told him he's a psychologist. Philosophers have told him he's a philosopher. Religious groups have invited him to speak. He had a cult following as a cartoonist. But, above all else, Tim Kreider is an essayist - one whose deft prose, uncanny observations, dark humor, and emotional vulnerability have earned him deserved comparisons to David Sedaris, Sarah Vowell, and the late David Foster Wallace (who was himself a fan of Kreider's humor) .<br> <br>In his new collection, <i>I Wrote This Book Because I Love You</i>, he focuses his unique perception and wit on his relationships with women - romantic, platonic, and the murky in-between. He talks about his difficulty finding lasting love, and seeks to understand his commitment issues by tracking down the John Hopkins psychologist who tested him for a groundbreaking study on attachment when he was a toddler. He talks about his valued female friendships, one of which landed him on a circus train bound for Mexico. He talks about his time teaching young women at an upstate New York college, and the profound lessons they wound up teaching him. And in a hugely popular essay that originally appeared in <i>The New York Times</i>, he talks about his nineteen-year-old cat, wondering if it's the most enduring relationship he'll ever have.<br> <br>Each of these pieces is hilarious and profound, and collectively they further cement Kreider's place among the best essayists working today.