I'll Try Anything Twice

Misadventures of a Self-Medicated Life

For listeners who wish Eat, Pray, Love had a cynical streak comes this propulsive, wildly original memoir about a journalist’s quest to conquer depression and addiction, set against the backdrop of international adventures and modern communal living.

Through the eyes of others, Carly Schwartz seems to have everything going for her: top editor at the world’s biggest news site, fancy college degree, a seemingly endless parade of friends and parties. But she’s been struggling with crippling, suicidal depression since she was a teenager, and by her late twenties she has learned to cope with a steady diet of drugs, alcohol, and unavailable men.

Then she meets a charismatic guy who invites her to move to the mysterious “sustainable town” he’s building in the Panamanian jungle. As Carly chases her appetite for adventure down to the equator, she ends up consumed by a darkness she can no longer hide from. And when she finally conjures the courage to confront her demons, she finds help where she least expects it.

Equal parts hilarious and heart-wrenching, I’ll Try Anything Twice is a vivid and vulnerable portrayal of the search for belonging, the definition of success, and the risks we’re willing to take in order to learn how to love ourselves.

©2026 Carly Schwartz (P)2026 Carly Schwartz

Authenticity and storytelling

It’s hard to find books that take on serious subjects well, and which are also funny and uplifting. This one manages that balance perfectly. I flew through it. I enjoyed the scenes from San Francisco and Central America. The author described the tech/party communities she inhabited in a way that perfectly captured both their hedonism and hypocrisy. I loved the ending. I also learned something. Definitely would recommend!