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The Real Thing book cover 1
The Real Thing book cover 2
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The Real Thing
Series · 6 books · 2018

Books in series

The List book cover
#1

The List

2018

Forget online dating, matchmakers, and awkward setups. In this insightful essay, Jade Chang, author of The Wangs vs. the World, exposes the secrets behind the latest solution for finding love in the twenty-first century. The new dating craze among the divorced, recently broken up with, and frustrated singles of Los Angeles starts with the creation of “the List.” The converted swear by it—just write down everything you want in a partner, and the cosmos will provide. But could such a simple, old-fashioned technique actually work? Enter Jade, who investigates this increasingly popular path to a soul mate, with charming and hilarious effects, tracing the history of list making—and learning about dating and love along the way. The List is part of The Real Thing, a collection of moving, hilarious, and big-hearted essays on the modern realities of friendship, romance, commitment, and love, with art by Geoff McFetridge. Each story can be read—or listened to—in a single sitting.
Boyfriends of Dorothy book cover
#2

Boyfriends of Dorothy

2018

In her love letter to her gay “boyfriends,” New York Times bestselling author Wednesday Martin shows just how an unconditional—and nontraditional—romance transformed the life of a teenage outsider forever. As an awkward high schooler, Wednesday struggled to find her place in Grand Rapids. Until a handsome senior encouraged her to believe how talented, smart, and wonderfully different she was. Naturally, Wednesday fell for him…He was falling, too. For another boy. Yet this one-sided crush proved life altering, paving the way for a string of “boyfriends” who offered Wednesday something deeper than physical connection. Boyfriends of Dorothy is part of The Real Thing, a collection of moving, hilarious, and big-hearted essays on the modern realities of friendship, romance, commitment, and love, with art by Geoff McFetridge. Each story can be read—or listened to—in a single sitting.
Everybody Loves Kamau! book cover
#3

Everybody Loves Kamau!

2018

Kamau and Melissa’s love was real. But so was her grandfather’s prejudice. In this funny, moving essay, W. Kamau Bell, the host of CNN’s United Shades of America, shares his very personal story of culture clash, family tradition, and racial bias. When the black comedian first meets the beloved Sicilian grandfather of his Italian American girlfriend, Melissa, the wrong sparks fly. The most important member of her large family shuns Kamau. What follows is a bracing, true account of conflict and patience, in-laws and family heirlooms, as Melissa and Kamau deal with cold shoulders, rejection, and finally resolution. Everybody Loves Kamau! is part of The Real Thing, a collection of moving, hilarious, and big-hearted essays on the modern realities of friendship, romance, commitment, and love, with art by Geoff McFetridge. Each story can be read—or listened to—in a single sitting.
Love & Estrogen book cover
#4

Love & Estrogen

2018

In this unforgettable meet-cute, Samantha Allen traces her story of self-discovery during gender transition and the life-altering partnership that began with a simple hello in an elevator. Feeling "unfinished" at the liminal age of twenty-six, the author had already accumulated decades of emotional baggage growing up in a Mormon family and living with gender dysphoria. When she met Corey midtransition, she felt even more like an awkward shape-shifter. Now Samantha shares how taking a chance on that fortuitous encounter meant having the courage to be herself. Love & Estrogen is part of The Real Thing, a collection of moving, hilarious, and big-hearted essays on the modern realities of friendship, romance, commitment, and love. Each story can be listened to in a single sitting.
Single Asiatic Male Seeks Ride or Die Chick book cover
#5

Single Asiatic Male Seeks Ride or Die Chick

2018

What does it mean to say “I love you” in the digital age? Fresh Off the Boat author and host of VICELAND’s Huang’s World Eddie Huang swipes right and meets his perfect match in this short tale of “shooting your shot.” Julie, 28, Chicago. All Eddie had were her photos—her green eyes and her wayward posture. Who made the first move doesn’t matter…or does it? Off jump, he could tell she was bad news and a great catch. But how to bring it to the real world? That’s what a whirlwind vacation in St. Barth’s is for. Follow along as one man tries to turn his supreme confidence and complete vulnerability into three little words. Single Asiatic Male Seeks Ride or Die Chick is part of The Real Thing, a collection of moving, hilarious, and big-hearted essays on the modern realities of friendship, romance, commitment, and love, with art by Geoff McFetridge. Each story can be read—or listened to—in a single sitting.
Neighbors book cover
#6

Neighbors

2018

From next-door neighbors to BFFs, Pretty Little World coauthors Elizabeth LaBan and Melissa DePino share how they became each other’s “person,” proving that friends can be the greatest loves of our lives. Sometimes our soul mates live down the street. Melissa finds hers when she opens the door for her new neighbor, Elizabeth. Over many years, their lives become intertwined as they support each other through pregnancy and motherhood, divorce, bereavement, and starting over. This is the story of finding a life partner under a different roof. Neighbors is part of The Real Thing, a collection of moving, hilarious, and big-hearted essays on the modern realities of friendship, romance, commitment, and love, with art by Geoff McFetridge. Each story can be read—or listened to—in a single sitting.

Authors

Wednesday Martin
Wednesday Martin
Author · 5 books

Wednesday Martin, Ph.D., is a social researcher and the author of Stepmonster: a New Look at Why Real Stepmothers Think, Feel, and Act the Way We Do (2009). She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today (www.psychologytoday.com/blog/stepmonster) and blogs for the Huffington Post and on her own web site (www.wednesdaymartin.com). She has appeared as a stepparenting expert on NPR, the BBC Newshour, Fox News and NBC Weekend Today, and was a regular contributor to the New York Post’s parenting page. Stepmonster is a finalist in the parenting category of this year’s “Books for a Better Life” award. A stepmother for nearly a decade, Wednesday lives in New York City with her husband and two sons. Her stepdaughters are young adults.

W. Kamau Bell
W. Kamau Bell
Author · 4 books
W. Kamau Bell is a socio-political stand-up comedian and television host whose most prominent work focuses on race and politics in America.
Jade Chang
Jade Chang
Author · 5 books

Jade Chang's debut novel, The Wangs vs. the World, is being published on October 4, 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She is a journalist who has covered arts, culture, and cities and a recipient of the Sundance Fellowship for Arts Journalism, the AIGA/Winterhouse Award for Design Criticism, and the James D. Houston Memorial scholarship from the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. She was recently a member of the Goodreads editorial team, where she worked on newsletters, author interviews, blog posts, infographics, and the quote of the day!

Eddie Huang
Eddie Huang
Author · 5 books

Huang was born in 1982 in Washington, D.C. to immigrant parents from Taiwan. He was raised in Orlando, Florida, where his father managed a successful group of steak and seafood restaurants. Huang identified with African-American culture, especially hip-hop, at a young age. He attended The University of Pittsburgh, Rollins College and graduated with a B.A. He earned a J.D. from Cardozo School of Law. Not long after graduating from law school, Huang decided for a career change. After being laid off from a New York law firm, Huang worked as a stand-up comic and as a marijuana dealer. In December 2009, he opened BaoHaus, a Taiwanese bun shop, on the Lower East Side of New York. His straightforward menu consists of pillowy steamed buns filled with a flavorful protein of choice, cilantro, crushed peanuts and Taiwanese red sugar, and sweet bao fries. He hosted Cheap Bites on the Cooking Channel the end of 2011 and also appeared on several episodes of Unique Eats before leaving the Cooking Channel for Vice where he hosts a recurring segment, also called "Fresh Off the Boat". Also in 2012, Huang was named a 2013 TED Fellow. In 2011 he made the Chow 13 and was voted one of the 101 People You Must Meet in 2011 by Town and County Magazine.

Samantha Allen
Samantha Allen
Author · 5 books

Samantha Allen is the author of the horror comedy novel PATRICIA WANTS TO CUDDLE (Zando, 2022) and the Lambda Literary Award finalist REAL QUEER AMERICA: LGBT STORIES FROM RED STATES (Little, Brown, 2019). Her other publications include LOVE & ESTROGEN (Amazon Original Stories, 2018) and M to WT(F) (Audible Originals, 2020). She is a GLAAD Award-winning journalist with bylines in The New York Times, CNN, Rolling Stone, and more. She received her Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Emory University in 2015 and has two hairless cats.

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