You'll Be Okay : My Life with Jack Kerouac

by Edie Kerouac-Parker

Book Overview

"You have a unique viewpoint from which to write about Jack as no one else has or could write. I feel very deeply that this book must be written. And no one else, I repeat, can write it."--William S. Burroughs Edie Parker was eighteen years old when she met Jack Kerouac at Columbia University in 1940. A young socialite from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, she had come to New York to study art, and quickly found herself swept up in the excitement and new...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872864642
• ISBN13: 9780872864641
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: City Lights Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Kerouac's Detroit Connection

Anyone who, like me, grew-up enthralled by the fact that Jack Kerouac once lived, abeit very briefly, in Detroit, will be thrilled by this book. That said, while I remain a fan of the art of Jack Kerouac, this book adds more fire to the fuel of his caddishness. While Edie Kerouac-Parker, Jack's first wife, doesn't beat you over the head with this aspect of his character - indeed, one can't help but see that she carried a torch for him throughout her life - the manner in which he treated her, especially right after they were married, can't help but leave one feeling cold. Edie was one of the few people who were right there as the Beat Generation was founded. Indeed, she helped in it's creation, as she introduced Kerouac to Lucien Carr, who in turn introduced Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs to Kerouac. Anyone who has ever delved into the history of this literary movement will find the information contained in this book to be invaluable. Beyond that, while a light read, it benefits from this by not being over-pretentious. As with Kerouac's personality shortcomings, Edie Kerouac-Parker does not try and overstate her importance. This is a welcome addition to the biographical cannon of Jack Kerouac's former wives and lovers, and a bit more, as well.

Into the rabbit hole

As the first reviewer mentioned, Edie does cover a lot of the notorious antics of a younger kerouac and if you've studied his life at all you will not be caught off guard by any startling revelations in this book. However what this book offers that others do not, is a personal and real perspective about the Man, not the myth. For instance, his habit of ringing his hands before he launched into something serious, the fact that he kept a toothbrush in his breast pocket, or even his favorite sleeping position. I enjoyed these memoirs thoroughly and came away feeling as though I personally had spent time in the 'libertines circle'. Definitely worth a read.

A reminiscence of excitement, hope, passion, and dreams

You'll Be Okay: My Life with Jack Kerouac is the true-life memoir of Edie Kerouac-Parker (1923-1992), the first wife of famous novelist Jack Kerouac. Penned long after Jack Kerouac had passed on, You'll Be Okay is a tale of girlhood love - when both Edie and Jack were only 18, and met at Columbia University. The young lovers moved in together, sharing an apartment with the future wife of William Burroughs, and began lifetime friendships with Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and others. A reminiscence of excitement, hope, passion, and dreams, illustrated with a handful of black-and-white photographs and skillfully edited by Timothy Moran and Bill Morgan.