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Maybe you know a Marjorie Moore; maybe you are one. She’s dauntless, desperate, and a little bit delusional. In her debut novel, Manhattan-based writer Christie Grotheim delves deep into the American heartland to explore a flawed search for fulfillment. Her lovable protagonist’s insatiable desires and misguided antics shed light on our own search for escapes—and search for self—and perhaps that is why we cheer her on wholeheartedly.

Protagonist Marjorie Moore, trying to overcompensate for her difficult childhood, always wants more—and as a result, often feels she ends up with less. Forever searching elsewhere, she is consumed with wanting, or in her opinion, needing. Feeling trapped by her town and her family, she escapes through obsessive shopping, pill popping, and fantasizing about a possible affair with a friend from high school with whom she reconnects on Facebook. Her growing credit card debt “forces” her to sell prescription drugs—which she secures at her receptionist job at the local hospital—to her dysfunctional friends. As her web of lies at home and work unravels, Margie wrestles with whether she is capable of becoming present in her own life.

 

Astute and provocative, Grotheim’s prose captures many of life’s dichotomies—masks versus authenticity, recklessness versus stability, and searching versus finding—in this moving debut novel.

Click here for reviews from readers!

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Biography
BIOGRAPHY

Christie Grotheim’s debut novel, The Year Marjorie Moore Learned to Live, was published in 2019 by Heliotrope Books. Her stories have been featured in Salon.com, The New York Observer, Prometheus Dreaming, Mr. Beller’s Neighborhood, West View News, and Petrolicious.com, among others. Christie is co-founder of Crystal Radio Sessions, a monthly reading series in Manhattan’s legendary KGB Bar, and she facilitates monthly Draft Chats at The Porch in Nashville, where she is also an instructor.

 

After twenty years in Manhattan, Grotheim and her husband relocated to Ashland City, TN, where after two years of renovations and construction on their property, she’s back to finishing construction on her second novel, while finally realizing her dream of hosting artist and writers retreats on the five acres she now calls home. See more of her writing at www.christiegrotheim.com and follow her on Instagram @christiegrotheim.

PUBLIshed Work

A Sober State of Mind

Getting and staying sober has made me wonderfully, terribly aware.

personal essay on literary journal prometheusdreaming.com

Soaring Past My
Midlife Crisis

As 40 approached, I faced many night terrors, but when I grabbed the trapeze, all my anxiety fell to earth.

personal essay on Salon.com

Where East Meets West

Leaving the comfort of the East Village, a move of two miles felt a world away.

personal essay on MrBellersNeighborhood.com

Petrolicious Series

15-part Series on adventures and breakdowns on an eight-week road trip around the US in an 1979 Lincoln Continental Town Car

essay series for Petrolicious.com

Photographic Memories

After 9/11, two photographs became

prized possessions

personal essay on MrBellersNeighborhood.com

 

Marfa, TX

A World of Art Way Out West

article for Travelmag.com

Uncomfortably Numb

Retreating during  the height of  the pandemic; but how far is too far?

personal essay on literary journal reideasjournal.com

Real Estate Rhetoric:

A User's Guide

Defining the state of Real Estate

in NYC

humor essay on MrBellersNeighborhood.com

 

My Roommate
Ruined My Life

When I moved in with a perfectly lovely women, I discovered just how much I had to hide.

personal essay on Salon.com

Confi-dental

An attempt at self-improvement after a bad break up resulted in faulty dental work and trauma far worse than the break up itself.

long-from personal essay on Ducts.org

Served With Soul

Harlem's Culinary Renaissance

article in Courier Magazine

 

Exploring Fez

And Its Magical Medina

travel essay for TravelMag.com

The Client Who Cried Wolf

A designer finds a very creative solution to dealing with a difficult client.

personal essay on TheReset.com

After the Ball Drops

A listical of a cynical New Yorker's New Year's Resolutions that just might not be futile

humor essay for The New York Observer

City Limits

After breaking out of the limits of her small Texas town, it took years to  appreciate coming home again.

personal essay for West View News

What I Found by
Getting Lost

A Guide to Getting Lost in the West Village

article for West View News

A Taste For Trouble

A determined dachshund develops a love of street food.

personal essay on Ducts.org

 

Stockholm

Meandering Through Medieval Gamla Stan

Article for TravelMag.com

Published Work
Events
readings and events

  • Virtual Event: LIVE reading at the KGB Bar!
    Virtual Event: LIVE reading at the KGB Bar!
    Time is TBD
    The KGB Bar Virtual Stories
    Time is TBD
    The KGB Bar Virtual Stories
    Please join me in celebrating my one year book anniversary—while also supporting the legendary KGB Bar—with a live reading of the prologue of my debut novel, The Year Marjorie Moore Learned To Live. I look forward to connecting with those near and far!
    Share

Lyrics, Lit & Liquor Reading Series

In January of 2018, I read a humor piece called
"A Second Round of Firsts" on the horrors, er, challenges of aging. Please join me here at
the charming East Village institution 2A and have a listen! 

Contact
Contact

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