First published 2023
Stand-up comedian Maria Bamford opens her life to readers with brutal honesty about her search for belonging. She takes us through her struggles with eating disorders in childhood, her navigation of show business while managing medical debt and psychiatric treatment, and her attempts to find her place in the world. Bamford recounts joining numerous anonymous fellowships including Debtors Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous. She describes hypomanic episodes that led her from worrying about capitalism to enforcing union rules on her Netflix show set. Between these experiences, she shares simple recipes and reflects on rigid belief systems ranging from Dale Carnegie's influence techniques to Suzuki violin methods to Richard Simmons fitness culture. The book captures her quest to participate in something larger than herself while acknowledging she isn't particularly skilled at group membership. Bamford transforms her isolating experiences into comedy that connects with readers who feel like outsiders among outsiders.
Genres: mental-health, addiction, autobiography, mental-illness, contemporary, non-fiction, biography-memoir, comedy
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, outsider, quest
287 pages · Kindle Edition · Gallery Books
Content warnings: addiction, eating-disorder, mental-illness