Apologies to My Censor: The High and Low Adventures of a Foreigner in China

In this witty memoir, Moxley recounts his coming-of-age years in the strange, gritty, and wonderful environment that is 21st century China. Before arriving there in 2007, Moxley was restless, bored, and depressed about his career prospects. While searching an online job board, the young Canadian journalist came across a writer/editor position for the only English-language newspaper in the country. Planning to stay for only a year, Moxley dove into the intoxicating, high-octane environment of emerging China. Commerce was booming in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics and, although his new job wasn’t what he expected, Moxley reveled in the heavy drinking and rigorous nightlife typical of expats in China. He took Chinese lessons, established himself as a freelance writer, appeared on a Chinese dating show, and even became one of China’s “hottest bachelors,” as ranked by Cosmopolitan. While the country’s idiosyncrasies began to seduce Moxley, misgivings about his untethered life started to bubble up. “You stop noticing the unusual things around you—in fact, the unusual things are simply not unusual anymore. And then you’re left wondering: Why am I still here?” Moxley’s tale is a nostalgic travelogue; one purchase is never far from his mind: “A plane ticket. One way. To New York.” (July)