Crushmore

Essays on Love, Loss, and Coming-of-Age

By: Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari, Nava Kavelin

Narrated by: Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari, Nava Kavelin

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

In the debut essay collection from the hosts of the hit podcast Podcrushed, Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari, and Nava Kavelin explore what it means to come of age at every stage of our lives.

Known for spotlighting your favorite artists’ tween stories of self-discovery on their podcast, Penn, Sophie, and Nava turn inward to share their own experiences for the first time. Penn, a twelve-year-old, Discman-toting introvert, starts in the solitude of his only-child household where he danced like no one was watching (because no one was watching) before embarking on a neon-lit journey to Hollywood. Sophie takes us to her middle school in Beijing where she had to ward off rumors of a boob job, and to the moment loosening her chokehold on love brought her husband straight into her living room. Nava traces the emotional aftershocks of losing her mother and guides us through the whimsical world of an imaginationship, where nothing is ever as it seems.

With compassion, humor, and insight, Crushmore charts the often cringey, sometimes luminous path from adolescence to adulthood. Together, these essays remind us that we can find healing—and even inspiration—from our awkward adolescent selves long after we thought we left them behind.

Critic reviews

"Kavelin, Badgley, and Ansari, hosts of the popular podcast Podcrushed, take turns narrating a collection of memoir-driven essays that will resonate with pop culturalists. Fans of the podcast who are used to hearing the three 30-somethings interview other famous folk will finally get a deeper dive into the hosts’ own accounts of puberty, tumultuous friendships, substances, sex, death, and other coming-of-age essentials. Badgley—best known as the lead actor in You—kicks off the collection with self-deprecating humor and captivating depth, making even stories about child acting feel relatable. Kavelin and Ansari (both ex-teachers) deliver equally resonant performances, most compelling when emotion cracks through heavier moments."

I just loved this

This book made me laugh and brought me to tears. It’s beautiful and fun to listen to on audible. It’s real and raw and a fast listen. Highly recommend.

Heartbreaking and Healing

A rollercoaster of emotions through endless trips down memory lane. This heartfelt book takes you through quite a journey which we can almost all relate to.

That sounds familiar!

Three different voices- a unlikely and seamless friendship - mature reflections on their youthful years- a narration so raw and heart-felt my eyes pooled with tears and made me pick up the phone to call my mother to look at her and tell her I love her. Thank you for sharing of your hearts, you three!

Sharing feelings

I loved the individual recollections and hearing about the different customs & beliefs of other cultures. We really are all the same.

Amazing Read

Wow. This book really pulled at my heartstrings and was just so well done. I loved every minute of it.