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Book Summary and Reviews of The 10 by E.A. Hanks

The 10 by E.A. Hanks

The 10

A Memoir of Family and the Open Road

by E.A. Hanks

  • Publishes:
  • Apr 8, 2025, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From Vanity Fair and The New York Times contributor comes a beautifully written, deeply felt memoir recounting the solo, cross-country journey she made along the Ten across the American southwest: a mission to uncover both what harrowing violence may or may not have happened to her late mother, but also, to look within and discover who she herself is—where her mother ends and she begins.

In her trusted loaded-up minivan "Minnie," E.A. Hanks follows the same route as a long-ago road trip with her mother in an attempt to better understand the complicated woman who gave her life. Along the way, as she follows her mother's diaries and her own recollections of the route, she begins to uncover secrets—some unexpectedly wonderful, and others darker and more violent than she ever imagined—that bring more questions than answers.

From the quiet expanses of White Sands National Park to the bustling streets of New Orleans, and the Texas-Mexico border to the swamps of the Florida panhandle, she interacts with the amazing breadth and diversity of the people that call these places home. Reckoning with the past, the present, her memories, and herself, Hanks brings us along a beautiful voyage towards understanding how the stories we tell about the places we're from ultimately become the stories we tell about the people we are.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"While Hanks's quest yields few concrete answers, her journey will resonate with anyone entangled in a messy parent-child bond. It's a forthright and moving account." —Publishers Weekly

This information about The 10 was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

E.A. Hanks

E.A. Hanks lives in Los Angeles, California. Formerly a staffer at Vanity Fair, she has contributed to TIME, The Guardian, The New York Times, and others. Follow her on Instagram @EAHanks.

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