Mari Andrew On Growing Up

Mari Andrew will also be joining The School of Life for an exclusive and intimate workshop, Turning Your Pain into Art on Thursday 21 June. For details and to book, please visit the event page here.

Due to overwhelming demand, we have added a second event with Mari Andrew on Friday, 22 June. To book, please click on the 'BUY NOW' button below.

Writer, illustrator and creator of the wildly popular Instagram account @bymariandrew, New Yorker Mari Andrew shares how resilience and a sense of humour can help us survive the tumultuous journey to adulthood. 

Our late teens and twenties are testing times that promise to define the rest of our lives. Dealing with the pressures of becoming an adult, finding the right career and falling in love can leave us feeling overwhelmed, lost, isolated and unfulfilled. It doesn’t help that the world is changing so quickly that most of the old rules about work and relationships no longer seem to apply.

Where might we look for guidance along this often bewildering path to adulthood? How can we learn to find the courage and resilience to leave the map behind and wander off the beaten track? Most importantly, how do we go about answering the single most urgent question of our youth: ‘What exactly should I be doing with my life?’ 

This June, Mari Andrew will join The School of Life for a series of exclusive events on her first visit to Australia. 

Mari will share six guiding themes that have helped her navigate her journey to adulthood. Drawing on works from her recently released first book, Am I There Yet?: The Loop-de-loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood, Andrew will explore how qualities like resilience, isolation, empathy, authenticity, discovery and healing can act as a compass throughout our formative years and help us develop a healthier and balanced perspective on life.

These special events will leave us with new insights into how we can tackle the trials of youth (and beyond), embrace the unknown and accept zigzagging and loop-de-looping as part of the adventure to find joy and meaning in the uncertainty of our daily lives.


6.30pm            Doors Open
7.00pm            Welcome & Introduction
7.10pm            Mari Andrew In Conversation On Growing Up 
8.10pm            Audience Q&A
8.30pm            Event Concludes 
8.40pm            Book Sales & Signing 


'Looking back, it's clear the the loops, zigzags, stops and detours didn't take me off course; they pushed me forward.'
– Mari Andrew


Mari Andrew is a writer and illustrator from Seattle, currently living in New York City. On her wildly-popular Instagram account Mari's illustrations explore the comfortingly-relatable and comical complexities of everyday life. 

Her debut book Am I There Yet?: The Loop-de-loop, Zigzagging Journey to Adulthood has just been released, cementing her status as the witty and warm older sister, the wise best friend and confidante we all wished we had growing up through our late teens and twenties. Through Am I There Yet?, Mari 
helps us to feel less alone as we make sense of the tumultuous journey to adulthood. 

Mari's writing and illustrations have appeared in Paste and HelloGiggles


Sarah Darmody is the prize-winning author of the travel memoir Ticket to Ride – Lost and Found in America. She has worked as a journalist and film critic in the USA.  Sarah enjoyed a career in publishing with Penguin Australia, and worked at the ABC. Her most recent book, Thanks for the Mammaries, included contributions from some of the world’s best-loved female authors to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. She currently writes and consults to various government agencies, and wonders about a great many things.


Myke Bartlett was born in Perth, and spent his first twenty years trying to escape. A trained journalist, Bartlett writes on politics, movies, pop culture and rock music for Australia’s best known cultural publications. His debut young adult novel Fire in the Sea won the 2011 Text Prize.



Buy tickets for
Mari Andrew On Growing Up


Major Event
When and where:
  • Fri 22 Jun 2018 7 – 8.30pm
    Clarendon Auditorium, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, 2 Clarendon St, South Wharf VIC 3006



Full price: $40.00
Concession: $30.00
(+ $2 booking fee and 1.5% CC fee) 


This event will include Auslan interpretation.


Please note that we are unable to offer refunds or transfers with less than 7 days cancellation notice before the original event date.

For ticketing and box office enquiries please call 0434 492 669 or email