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Harley Loco
Harley Loco: A Memoir of Hard Living, Hair, and Post-Punk, from the Middle East to the Lower East Side | Rayya Elias
5 posts | 4 read | 4 to read
It is my honor to introduce these pagesso gravelly, so straggly, so hopeful, bright, and true. Elizabeth Gilbert When she was seven, Rayya Elias and her family fled the political conflict in their native Syria, settling in Detroit. Bullied in school and caught between the world of her traditional family and her tough American classmates, she rebelled early. Elias moved to New York City to become a musician and kept herself afloat with an uncommon talent for cutting hair. At the height of the punk movement, life on the Lower East Side was full of adventure, creative inspiration, and temptation. Eventually, Eliass passionate affairs with lovers of both sexes went awry, her (more than) occasional drug use turned to addiction, and she found herself living on the streetsbetween her visits to jail. This debut memoir charts four decades of a life lived in the moment, a path from harrowing loss and darkness to a place of peace and redemption. Eliass wit and lack of self-pity in the face of her extreme highs and lows make Harley Loco a powerful read thats sure to appeal to fans of Patti Smith, Augusten Burroughs, and Eleanor Henderson.
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Cosmos_Moon
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1. I can‘t think of one 2020 favorite, but my favorite books read this year with new to me authors were, (1) tagged, Harley Loco; (2) Say You‘re One of Them, Uwem Akpan; & (3) The Book of Strange New Things, Michel Faber
2. A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki - I loved the characters & anachronistic settings where they found themselves. I related to the character Ruth.
3. Time for myself, my brain & imagination.

#wondrouswednesday
Wanna play?

Eggs Well said 👏🏻📚🤗❤️ 4y
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Cosmos_Moon
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Pickpick

Great memoir from a very interesting, dynamic human. Great book!

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Leftcoastzen
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Pickpick

2nd book finished in my #DeweyReadathon When your parents move from Syria to start a new life, a lot is expected of the children, education & a career,expected . While her sibs were more in that mold , Rayya was more of a rebel, a talent for cutting hair & in love with Detroits music scene, she sees an opportunity to go big, move to NYC.She struggles with addiction, her lesbian love affairs,but her spirit in telling her story kept me reading.

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Leftcoastzen
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#DeweysReadathon Snack break! went for something healthy,a little disappointed in myself.I like the book but wish there was a little more about music and the lower east side than the drugs.

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Mich1
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Wow! Really enjoying this memoir from Rayya Elias. Born in Syria, moved with family to Michigan when 8 and NY (most likely elsewhere but I‘m only beginning her journey)- a life on the margins. Unfortunately Rayya recently passed away. Much loved partner of Elizabeth Gilbert. #memoir #writer #filmmaker

RaimeyGallant Sounds intriguing. 6y
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