A BookPage Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of the Year  

A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of the Year 

A Ms. Magazine Most Anticipated Book of the Year

“I Would Die If I Were You is a reminder that there are intellectual and emotional frequencies that can only be explored through books. In big-hearted, sharply crafted chapter after chapter, Emily Rapp Black dares us to wander through the ways art, reckoning, and sadness are not at all finite, though they are necessarily forever. The writing and ideas here, particularly at the ends of chapters, are just absolutely exquisite. I dare any twenty-first century reader to show me a writer whose endings are better than Emily Black. Fuck you, AI. You could never ever do this." —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy

“I Would Die If I Were You is the book fans have been waiting for. Emily’s memoirs have never been simply about understanding—they have been about survival. Across love, loss, grief, pain, and fleeting moments of joy, the protagonist we have followed so closely has long felt unresolved, suspended in becoming. This book marks a turning point. I Would Die If I Were You is Emily writing not from the urgency of endurance, but from a place of agency, triumph, and power. Survival is no longer the central question; living is.” —Maggie Freleng, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and producer

“This book is wise, funny, honest, and immensely generous. Out of all the bitterness and narrowness around us, Emily Rapp Black shines a light and reminds us why honoring our drive to tell our stories is, in and of itself, a way to survive. Like all great writing, this book is full of measures of sorrow and joy that come from experience. And like very few books about writing, it is actually helpful. I Would Die if I Were You helped me remember why I want to write, and how to do it more honestly and truly, and I know it will help you too.” —Matthew Zapruder, author of I Love Hearing Your Dreams and Story of a Poem

“I Would Die if I Were You is Emily Rapp Black's greatest work to date—and that's saying a lot. This is a book about how to live fully, how to create art and joy and truth in the world. Through her gorgeous prose, Black imparts wisdom and inspiration. I plan to use her unique (and insane) craft exercises as I approach my own work, and I will keep this important book on my desk, next to The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo and Ann Patchett's The Getaway Car.” —New York Times bestselling novelist Amanda Eyre Ward 

“I Would Die if I Were You is brilliant, profound, and endlessly inspiring. Emily Rapp Black has given writers at every level a tour de force of craft and courage. At its core, this is a galvanizing call for empathy and community, a testament to the power of language and imagination and the impossible compassion of storytelling.” —Brett Anthony Johnston, author of We Burn Daylight