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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
This is as thoughtful a reflection on such a horrible year as one could reasonably expect. The line about how it's not the job of children to tell their parents who they are, it's the job of parents to find out who their kids are was an extremely good one. That's kind of all I have to say about it!
I knew this book primarily covered that clusterfuck of a year Tig, which didn't make me super excited. Mostly because I follow her career closely and had heard a lot of it already. I've listened to podcasts, listened to Live, saw her documentary, etc. (Fun fact - I got into comedy podcasts back in 2009 because of Tig appearances) I thought I knew her story, but I was such a dum dum. There's so much more back story and raw emotion throughout the book. Although she mostly talks about that terrible year, she flashbacks to her childhood which was fascinating.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I'm often disappointed by comedian memoirs because they tend to be just their standup acts written out, and it's like, I already heard this? And it was better when you were performing it? But I keep trying to read them because I like standup comedy. And disappointment. But! This didn't disappoint! It was what I want from a comedian memoir--it gave a lot of backstory for the material from her amazing Live album, as well as some post-story. And it was very funny. And I cried.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Sometimes a book feels like receiving a hug. This one also felt like giving one. I had no idea I needed to read this book so much. I heard Tig on a podcast and thought she was funny. After my grandma’s death a few weeks ago, I thought I needed a funny book. This was not that (although it is funny at times). The way she talks about her mom’s death and the strange parts of grief was so relieving to me. I needed her rawness and realness more than I even knew. I’m so glad I found this book. Thanks, Tig for sharing your story and for not being fluffy about how messy life can be.
I thought this was going to be just comedy. It certainly includes humor, but it also chronicles a hard hard time in the author's life.
Let me be clear, I am writing this review and rating this book two weeks after having brain surgery and less than six months after having another surgery to remove a different tumor that left me with about 40 stitches behind my ear and down my neck. So this is not an unbiased review.
I have not been able to communicate a lot of my feelings through these last months, but this book was able to capture and communicate so much of my feelings it was like having my mind read.
I also think this book is a beautiful honest look at the way hard things affect our lives in complex ways that are hard to judge from the outside.
I recommend this book for anyone who had been through real living hell, or for those who want to hear how to be there for someone who is going through it. It is not a funny, lighthearted comedy autobiography. It is a real look at a real person.
I am forever grateful to have been able to read this book, and for the ways that it made me feel less alone.
I have not been able to communicate a lot of my feelings through these last months, but this book was able to capture and communicate so much of my feelings it was like having my mind read.
I also think this book is a beautiful honest look at the way hard things affect our lives in complex ways that are hard to judge from the outside.
I recommend this book for anyone who had been through real living hell, or for those who want to hear how to be there for someone who is going through it. It is not a funny, lighthearted comedy autobiography. It is a real look at a real person.
I am forever grateful to have been able to read this book, and for the ways that it made me feel less alone.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
For anyone who's already watched the documentary, watched "One Mississippi", listened to her "Live" album, we know what to expect. We know the story. But it was amazing to be able to read all the details, learn about relationships never before fleshed out through her comedy and her NPR talks and her interviews on late night shows. Notaro has an indisputable rough go of it, but her ability to be so grounded and so open and so incredibly insightful through it all is what makes this otherwise simply-written book something of a revelation. To talk about death frankly is not something anyone seems to do, especially with the person who's dying, and the way Notaro delves into that is fascinating and heartbreaking and frustrating all at once.
And my favorite quote regarding how to talk to someone who has been confronted by tragedy: "When I heard, 'Wow, that sounds really hard,' or even an awkward 'I don't know what to say...' it was tremendously comforting. I felt as though someone was really talking to me and considering what was actually going on, and, most importantly, was willing to succumb to the moment instead of covering it up with a one-size-fits-all platitude. I imagine that most people in my situation, regardless of their religious beliefs, would want the opportunity to express the depths of their fears, concerns, and questions without being showered with blind and deaf positivity."
And one, on death: "Losing a loved one provides a never-ending loop of milestones. There's always the first day, the first week, the first year, the first birthday, the first Mother's Day, the first Christmas; one painful anniversary after another, year after year."
And my favorite quote regarding how to talk to someone who has been confronted by tragedy: "When I heard, 'Wow, that sounds really hard,' or even an awkward 'I don't know what to say...' it was tremendously comforting. I felt as though someone was really talking to me and considering what was actually going on, and, most importantly, was willing to succumb to the moment instead of covering it up with a one-size-fits-all platitude. I imagine that most people in my situation, regardless of their religious beliefs, would want the opportunity to express the depths of their fears, concerns, and questions without being showered with blind and deaf positivity."
And one, on death: "Losing a loved one provides a never-ending loop of milestones. There's always the first day, the first week, the first year, the first birthday, the first Mother's Day, the first Christmas; one painful anniversary after another, year after year."