My Inner Sky

Magical Things I ve Seen in New York

It all started with a grumpy September afternoon. Two weeks after moving to New York, I was walking down Second Avenue in my least favorite kind of weather overcast but humid, the worst of both worlds. I was carrying a grocery bag that was going to fall apart at any minute and wearing the wrong shoes, and I was sweaty in the long sleeves I d ambitiously worn that day in hopes that early fall would deliver a nice chill. Silly me.
 
   Mindlessly devouring Twitter for news as I waited to cross the street, I was startled by the sound of two pigeons arguing about something in the road. They were pecking, squawking, generally making a very unnecessary ruckus. When the traffic began moving, a young, hip guy on a bike braked with a screech and pulled over toward the sidewalk. Getting off his bike, he quickly looked both ways and walked right into the street to lightly stomp near the birds. Hey, guys, knock it off! he yelled, and the pigeons broke off their fight. It was so absurd it made me laugh, but he earnestly got back on his bike and kept going. Sort of a magical New York moment. I made note of it in my journal.
 
   Since then, I ve kept a running list of Magical Things I ve Seen in New York. The criteria: they have to take me out of what I m doing and immerse me in the city s human landscape. The experience may only last a few seconds, but the effect lingers for hours. Instead of whisking myself away from the city, as I sometimes dream of doing when I m carrying a heavy grocery bag in grey humidity, these observations wedge me in deeper. After scrolling through a depressing comments section and concluding that humans are awful, joining people on the sidewalks of this city changes my stance to humans are complex and even humans are wonderful.
 
   When I decided to move to New York, I could barely finish my sentence I m moving to Ne without someone piping up I like New

Mari Andrew

Praise for My Inner Sky

Andrew s new book is a calming tonic for uncertain times. It has essays and illustrations about overcoming life s obstacles and learning to embrace `day, night and all the times in between. Her writing shines in a way that makes the reader feel seen. Washington Post

There's something about Mari Andrew's words and illustrations that make you feel at home. My Inner Sky reminds readers of the shared grief, joy, and sorrow that we experience throughout life and how to cope with it.
Marie Claire

Looking for a grounding read? This collection of essays and illustrations can help you out with that. It s broken into four dreamy sections: twilight, golden hour, night, and dawn. Each one tackles emotions from trying to heal after trauma to finding love in surprising places. Plus, this book will look cute on your coffee table when you re finished with it.
Cosmopolitan

A bestselling author writes poignantly about finding beauty in darkness and hope in the face of despair. She s my favorite Instagram poet (yes, that s a thing), and it s hard to imagine finding a brighter source of light than her words and illustrations.
Adam Grant, award-winning psychologist, author, educator, and public speaker

To say this year has been challenging is an understatement and it's easy to despair at the scale of the loss we are collectively experiencing accross the globe. This book is a reminder that healing is humbling, that resilience is beautiful, that there is joy in choosing yourself and that life is made of little moments worth paying attention to and celebrating. Mari makes no grand pronouncements and doesn't offer any easy advice. Instead she shares with us one word and one illustration at a time why being alive is so damn worth it.
Aminatou Sow, author of Big Friendship

Mari Andrew s words and artwork in My Inner Sky are exactly what the world needs now: hopeful, uplifting, and