I Wish, Therefore I Am

“We’re composed of wishes as thoroughly as we’re composed of water.” So writes Gary Lippman in his latest book, a “literary wish list” that blends experimental memoir, surrealist adventure, and self-help meditation into one unforgettable ride.

I Wish, Therefore I Am is a mosaic of a singular American lifetime’s worth of desires—and how those desires collide with a cast of recurring characters: a band of evil ninjas, a mysterious black-clad vagabond, and the ancient goddess of destiny herself, Dame Fortune.

The wishes in this book range from the fantastical to the deeply personal, invoking winged dinosaurs, whirling dervishes, the Rolling Stones, African proverbs, Amelia Earhart, Civil War-era missiles, Tarot cards, pirates, psychoanalysts, and a pair of eternally rolling dice—and that’s just in the first six pages.

Comic, tragic, erotic, whimsical, and profound, I Wish, Therefore I Am is a tonic for these times.

About the Author

Gary Lippman is the author of the novel Set the Controls for the Heart of Sharon Tate (2019) and the short story collection We Loved the World But Could Not Stay (2022). His play Paradox Lust was produced off-Broadway in 2001, and his journalism has appeared in The New York Times, The Paris Review, VICE, Literary Hub, and The Los Angeles Review of Books. Lippman’s work has been praised by novelist Tom Robbins, multimedia artist Laurie Anderson, musician Lydia Lunch, and actors Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco, and Matthew Rhys. Beyond writing, Lippman has served as a pro bono attorney with New York’s Innocence Project, where DNA evidence is used to help exonerate the wrongfully convicted.