New Book: From Life Itself Out April 28th, 2026
From the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Notes on a Foreign Country, comes an absorbing portrait of an Istanbul neighborhood reshaped by global forces.
Praise for From Life Itself
[STARRED REVIEW]
“Fascinating on its own merits, [From Life Itself is] also an urgent cautionary tale for American readers . . . [Hansen’s] expansive conversations with shopkeepers, tradespeople, and local officials reveal a city on edge about immigration, corruption, and other familiar issues . . . Hansen methodically chronicles [Erdoğan’s] consolidation of power, the effect of which is chillingly apparent after massive 2023 earthquakes . . . Hansen’s deep-rooted reporting has undeniable gravitas . . . A rich portrait of a community—and a country—in the shadow of an increasingly powerful president.”
[STARRED REVIEW]
“With great sympathy and nuance, Hansen shares the intimate lives of an array of Karagümrük’s denizens, all set against Erdoğan’s systematic dismantling of the courts, the press, opposition parties, election integrity, and any other force that might hinder the country’s appropriation by Erdoğan and his AK Party . . . Lessons abound in this fine case study.”
“While profiling colorful local characters who serve as a window into what dramatic global change does to individual lives and perspectives, Hansen cleverly considers whether . . . [Turkey has] already borne witness to a ‘dissolution of nations and borders and people and seemingly civilization itself’ that the West is now grappling with . . . A captivating consideration of Turkey as a truly ‘post-Western’ nation charting its own course in a globalized world.”
About Suzy Hansen
Suzy Hansen lived in Istanbul for more than a decade, where she was a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and many other publications. Her first book, Notes on a Foreign Country, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction and the winner of the Overseas Press Club of America’s Cornelius Ryan Award. Her second book, From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul and Neighborhood in the Age of Erdogan, is being published in April 2026. She has taught writing at Princeton University, New York University, and Bard College.
Notes on a Foreign Country
My first book Notes on a Foreign Country was a Finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction, and the winner of the Overseas Press Club’s Cornelius Ryan Award for Best Nonfiction Book on International Affairs.
