Lizz Free Or Die

by Lizz Winstead

Lizz Winstead, co-creator of The Daily Show and one of today's most hilarious comedians and insightful social critics, pens a brilliant account of how she discovered her comedic voice. In this collection of autobiographical essays, Winstead vividly recounts how she fought to find her own voice, both as a comedian and as a woman, and how humor became her most powerful weapon in confronting life's challenges. Growing up in the Midwest, the youngest child of conservative Catholic parents, Winstead learned early in her life that the straightforward questions she posed to various authority figures around her-her parents, her parish priest, even an anti-abortion counselor -prompted many startled looks and uncomfortable silences, but few answers. Her questions rattled people because they exposed the inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the people and institutions she confronted. Yet she didn't let that stop her from pursuing her dreams. Funny and biting, honest and poignant, this no-holds-barred collection gives an in-depth look into the life of one of today's most influential comic voices. In writing about her childhood longing to be a priest, her role in developing The Daily Show, and of her often problematic habit of diving into everything head first, asking questions later (resulting in multiple rescue-dog adoptions and travel disasters), Lizz Winstead has tapped an outrageous and heartfelt vein of the all-too-human comedy.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor, Politics, Comedy, Essays, Feminism

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2012

Reviews

[Julie Ehlers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few years ago, you couldn’t swing a cat without hitting a female comedian/comedy writer who’d gotten a book deal, so it made sense that Lizz Winstead, stand-up comic and co-creator of The Daily Show, got tapped to make her own contribution to the literature. Lizz is clearly a funny, feminist person and someone with a lot of integrity, so I’m sorry I didn’t like this book more. Don’t get me wrong, I loved, absolutely loved, the parts about her becoming a stand-up comic and making a name for herself in Minneapolis before moving on to the national stage. I also liked learning about the origins of The Daily Show and her time at Air America Radio. But the chapters about her childhood were pretty dull, and the many riffs on Catholicism were tired. The chapter on her career at MTV was flat-out depressing, and the chapter on her poorly behaved dog was excruciating and interrupted the narrative flow. Also, I hadn't realized that she’d left The Daily Show after only one season (pre–Jon Stewart), so I found it difficult to credit her for what the show eventually became. There’s still a lot to recommend this book—Lizz’s self-made career is indeed quite inspiring—but overall I can’t help but feel it could have been so much better.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened to pick this book up at the thrift store without knowing anything about the author - mostly based on the punny title, but then on the blurb describing how the author was someone who asked questions about such things as religion that made adults uncomfortable. As it happens, the author is co-creator of "The Daily Show" and a comic/social critic, so it was easy to read the pages of a book by someone with who I am on the same 'page' as..

At any rate, Winstead describes her life growing up in Minneapolis as an outsider. She is someone who from an early age did not fit into the cultural script of having kids and raising a family, so she had lots to chaff against. Something I found appealing about this memoir in particular is that she describes early on how she didn't have the sort of monster parents often portrayed in certain brands of memoirs.


Anywho, I'm trying to think of a way to describe this book so that folks who would like this book would want to read it, and I guess that it would appeal most for those who like reading books featuring characters who are somewhat outside the norm with a somewhat snarky take on modern culture - she reminded me a bit of Christopher Isherwood and Merle Miller in that respect.

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It is a collection of "messays" or memoirs/essays that are laugh out loud funny, poignant, heartfelt, very well written and impossible to put down. We follow Lizz as she chronicles her hilarious journey from Catholic school girl in Minneapolis to becoming co-creator and head-writer of The Daily Show and beyond.
Having attended Catholic school in the 50's and 60's, I roared with laughter as Lizz described her shear terror of the disembodied praying hands that hung in her living room as well as her child-like innocence in asking her parish priest why she couldn't be an altar boy.
She tackles touchy subjects like her abortion and the death of her parents with relateable sensitivity and openness while managing to somehow insert humor into these not so funny situations.
I give this book five stars. It's a great read!

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up solely because I have a friend who spells her name Lizz, and I thought it would be fun to tell her I was reading this. Imagine my surprise when I found Winstead to be fascinating. I liked reading her story. She grew up around the same time I did, though her Catholic upbringing was far different, there were many cultural markers in common. Her abortion story is intense and important, NTM brave. Her parents are hilarious, the way their story plays out poignant. I haven't really seen the shows she worked on, though I have heard of them (I don't live in a CAVE, just a LIBRARY).
The only part that turned me off was her need to make up words and define them throughout. Seemed labored and not funny.

Well worth a look.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The descriptions are misleading: this book is not hilarious. It has its moments of humor but nothing in it made me burst out laughing (though, FWIW, I don't laugh at Seinfeld either.) I have the feeling Lizz Winstead's humor lies flat on the page and needs her delivery to really sell it. Fortunately, her prose does well in pointing out the more poignant moments of her life. I can empathize with the girl who wanted to be an altar boy but was told no based on her gender, and with the confused young woman who walked into an anti-abortion clinic looking for options. The passage about finally going to prom was very sweet, as was the chapter on her Dad's passing. But I felt Lizzilla showed up too often, and I don't find much humor in mean-spiritedness. I did appreciate her musings on sisterhood and on trying to be a voice for progressives. A thought-provoking, but not essential read.

I received this book gratis as part of ELLE Magazine's ELLE's Lettres Jurors' Prize program.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Rachel Maddow and Jon Steward? Read/listen to Lizz Free or Die to find out how they all relate.

I remember seeing Lizz on Rachel's show and on Melissa Harris-Perry when she was promoting her book. But I remember seeing her stand up for feminism and abortion and rights for everyone. I loved her point of view. I couldn't wait to read her book. Sadly, now I am finished. I hope she decides to write more. It was fun, bittersweet, sad, maddening, and back around to laugh out loud. Um, not so great to read when your partner is asleep next to you. The LOL moments got me in trouble a few times.

This book is written in essays. Sort of in chronological order, but not. I like that it strays as her mind does which fits perfectly with mine. I wish I would have had a book like this as I was a teen or early twenties. Following her own path made her the strong wonderful person she is today.

Try it! I loved it!

[Luke Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Memoirs are a funny experiment right off the bat. You have to allow yourself a certain level of ego to sit down and think, “I’m gonna write a book all about me. Then people are going to buy because I am just that interesting.” It’s not the easiest of steps to take, believe me, I’ve actually written one (which will likely only be released post-mortem, if ever.)

Yet when someone is right on the money, when they have lived a life filled with interesting moments and incredibly captured humor, the experience of reading it is like finding a new best friend. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting anyone go into a stalking frenzy over this, but this new release from one of the most connected voices of the comedy and political world is certainly worth your time (and the laugh muscles you’re going to give a workout to.)

Lizz Free or Die is a collection of essay from Lizz Winstead, who might not be incredibly well-known outside of particular circles in the entertainment industry, but through these pages you find out exactly how responsible she was for some of the biggest names on TV today. She was the co-creator of The Daily Show and Air America Radio, finding her strength and power in comedy was only increased when she drew on her political viewpoints as well. She saw a news media syndicate that was spiraling out of control and realized the only way to expose it was to openly mock it.

While she left The Daily Show right before Jon Stewart came on, it would never have become the behemoth of progressive/center-responsible infotainment of today without the foundation she built. After that, Air America Radio, a progressive talk radio outlet that sadly didn’t last, gave a platform not only to new voices needing to tip some of the balance away from the conservative overload on the AM dial, but also introduced a larger nation to Rachel Maddow, who then went on to headline the flagship show of MSNBC. Winstead also gave a show to Al Franken, which no doubt boosted his appeal to the national public before his successful Senate run.

Just looking at those names alone and the effect Winstead had on bringing them to the forefront of modern-day politics it is frightening to think where this country would be without her.

Yet, before you think this is all insider Washington wonk jokes, understand that Winstead is a comedian first, progressive warrior a close second. She spent her time on the open mike circuit and earned her street cred the hard way, through bombing and walking right back on stage the next night. Also, growing up in a household laden with burdens of devout Catholicism proved a consistent generator of humorous questions, hypotheticals and overtly ridiculous debates.

Lizz Free or Die from beginning to end is an outrageously funny and surprisingly important tale of someone just trying to find their voice and the best way to use it. Get it, read it, learn from it.

[Carrie Kellenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lizz Free or Die is a collection of personal 'messays' written by Lizz Winstead, an American comedienne, radio and television personality, and co-creator of The Daily Show. Lizz writes about growing up in a Catholic family in Minnesota; some of her stories such as Get Me To The Altar and Decorate to Manipulate were laugh out loud funny while others such as All Knocked Up and Wetube were written with a more important message in mind.

Throughout the book, Lizz takes us on a journey that shows us how she was never afraid to follow her dreams or have an opinion, even if it was at the expense of upsetting loved ones. At times it was difficult to read about her struggles with explaining her choices to her parents, who really didn't understand why she did the things she did, but we learn that they loved her and respected her none the less.

The Red Vag of Courage is hilarious, but it also teaches us about taking a horrible moment and defining it as your own. How you want to be remembered is up to you. The choice is yours.

I also really enjoyed how Lizz chronicled the process of finding her comedic voice and how difficult the process of writing can be. I was really able to relate to these essays in particular. Throughout her life as a writer, Lizz had always written collaboratively rather than on her own, and it took the deaths of her parents to teach her how to rely on her own skills as a writer and storyteller to make her story worth the read. I think she does an excellent job.

[Holly Morrow]

I didn’t know who Lizz Winstead was before I heard a radio interview about this book that made me think I was going to like it. For those of you similarly ignorant – Lizz is a comedian who was involved in the birth of one very successful venture in liberal media – The Daily Show – and one very unsuccessful venture in liberal media – Air America Radio (where her cohost was the then-unheard of Rachel Maddow). Her book is part family memoir, in the “how crazy are these people??” vein – she grew up the youngest of 5 children in a Minnesota Catholic clan, and her stories about her parents are both funny and touching (waterworks alert for the essay about her dad dying!). Its also the story of her evolution as an artist (or whatever the appropriate term is for a comedian and political satirist) - Lizz was a born iconoclast, and chafed against most all norms and strictures – this evolved into a love of performing and her overwhelming desire to have “a voice” and express her point of view. Anyhoo, I don’t really feel like writing a book review so fast forward: she drops out of University of Minnesota and spends years as a stand-up, develops great disdain for the mainstream media, decides to co-create the Daily Show originally as a satire of the “real” news, leaves before Jon Stewart comes on, bounces around a bit, does a spirit-crushing reality show on MTV, then gets dragged into what sounds like the tremendous debacle of Air America radio. She talks about all that stuff. Its funny and irreverent. Its short and took me two days to read. The End.

[Amy K · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like mildly amusing essays about Catholicism, then this book is for you because there are A LOT of them in here. Too many, I would say. I expected this book to be funnier but it was pretty tame humor, all told. Winstead is like a cool aunt whose politics you agree with, but still find annoying when you spend too much time with her.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lizz is one of the creators of The Daily Show. This book is so funny~trying-not-to-laugh-so-hard-I-wake-my-spouse-up funny.

[Minnesinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny, hysterically so when she 'bares all' and describes her first major gig as emcee at a Minneapolis comedy-thon. Who else would admit to getting her dress caught in a roll-up curtain and hoisted upward, then upside-down, revealing her pantiless crotch? (She was especially embarrassed about its au naturelle state.) Oy! Can. Not. Imagine. Ever living that down. But she had the wit to turn the situation quickly into a joke, making the crowd roar. Eventually the club mgr came out with a scissors to cut her loose—erm, cut her dress loose—and gave her one of his shirts to wear. (Note to the offended: she had panties on earlier and only removed them before the show because the AC was broken, she was sweltering, and she had asked her roommate if she could see through the dress. (No.))

Several people here have mentioned her involvement in starting Air America Radio, which I hadn't known before, but makes sense, because fellow Minnesotan and SNL colleague (now U.S. Senator) Al Franken was also on Air America.

No doubt I appreciated the local references more than the average reader because I live just over the border from Minneapolis, in Al Franken's hometown of St Louis Park, or 'Saint Jewish Park' as one older-generation wag calls it. I lived here for a year in 1979-80 as well. I remember exactly what it was like when feminism was in its infancy here; I was a student in the first-ever women's studies course on campus (UMN-East Bank). I remember the Dudley Riggs comedy club on West Bank (still there!) along with all the shops selling used guitars, handmade 4-string dulcimers, and LPs by everyone including Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span to local boys Leo Kottke and Michael Johnson). West Bank definitely had a more '60s vibe than East Bank; it was the best place to find beads, incense and cotton, India-print shirts and wrap-skirts. I was too young to have gotten into First Avenue downtown (where Prince got his start), nor did I have a car, but it was still fun to read about about because the place is so iconic.

It's funny that winstead was raised Catholic in Mpls, because it was and still is heavily Protestant (and Scandinavian). (St. Paul has always been more Catholic, Irish, Italian, and Polish.) Since I too grew up in the Upper Midwest, I had to laugh at her 'slutty Lutherans' comment. I found that hysterically funny because I could just imagine my strict Lutheran mother—a 'PK' or Pastor's Kid—having a coronary had she heard it. Winstead's childhood memory of the disembodied (praying) hands was hilarious, too; we had a pair of those in our house as well when I was growing up. Only Ours glowed in the dark, which probably would have scarred Winstead for life. ;)

I knew exactly what she was talking about when she mentioned the snooty 'burb adjoining Mpls on the west, called Edina (pronounced ee-DI-nah). (Can you say WASP?) News update, Lizz: It's still like that, in case you wanted to know. And the 'Minnesota-Nice' shtick is wearing thin.
The stories about her parents were pretty funny too. Even though she and her father were diametrically opposed re: feminism, he told one phone harasser that he raised her to have an opinion (later telling her that he had just assumed it would be the same as his).

Winstead's sense of humor can be pretty coarse at times, so be forewarned If you are a prude and/or anti-feminism. I agree with one of the first Goodreads reviewers above who said the chapter on Winstead's dogs was too much. It would be one thing to mention the dog's gross habit in passing—erm, to mention in passing the dog's gross habit—but to drone on about it ad nauseum made me want to gag, too. Enough! I cannot comprehend why she would want to spend so much space grossing us out, but that's just me. Plus, the dog chapter *does* 'break the narrative' as the same reviewer said.

I usually don't read memoirs but figured this one might be worth it. It definitely is if you want to hear how cultural icons like SNL began, or if you know the Twin Cities and want a stroll down Memory Lane—during the '60s and '70s anyway. Love it or hate it, the Twin Cities is an interesting place, a happening place for theater and comedy as Winstead explains.(Also famous in the '90s for recording thanks to Janet Jackson and Prince, Amy Grant et al.) There is culture out the wazoo here from the world-class Minnesota Orchestra to Garrison Keillor's 'Prairie Home Companion Show' (alas retired this year). First Avenue is still a top venue for music, and there are loads of smaller clubs. It's a quirky place to live, that's for sure. Besides being hometown to Al Franken, Saint Louis Park is also the hometown of the Cohen brothers (film directors). Diablo Cody is also from the Cities (wrote the screenplay for 'Juno', her first ever screenplay).

[Karendale2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a quick read. I am slow reader but finished in two days. It is laugh out funny for the first half about her childhood. Then it gets into the nitty gritty of producing a comedy show, the Daily Show. This too is interesting as is the last part about Air America Radio. Liz Winstead was there at the birth of these last two items.

Throughout the essays, that don't read like essays, is permeated with her humor especially about growing up in a Catholic family in Minnesota. I highly recommend if you enjoy off kilter humor or are not averse to someone who make fun of many topics.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

An inspirational account of Winstead's journey from childhood through all the ups and downs on the way to becoming successful in her chosen field by taking chances and remaining true to her own beliefs and standards. And it's hilarious. Even the otherwise gut-wrenching parts are tempered by appropriate and clever humor.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A enjoyable/forgettable collection of essays from someone I suspect I would truly enjoy if I got to (1) watch her perform live or (2) meet her in person. Winstead was occasionally in danger of sounding like she was name-dropping, but I suspect it's hard not to when you've encountered so many interesting people.

[Lois Melbourne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lizz Winstead is an extraordinary comic. Her writings are both funny and spot on to real life existence. Its a real talent that can take every day life and turn it in to laugh out loud reading. The number of times I wanted to put down the book and call or text a friend to tell them her funny line or story was too numerous to count.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first I wasn't into it, but when she started to describe how she worked as a comedian, writer of The Daily Show and starting Air America Radio, I found those parts much more entertaining. These are pretty good essays, but to be honest once you read David Sedaris no other essay can compare.

[Jeri Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liz's is smart, insightful and funny; I want her as a friend! Whether explaining her path to becoming one of the two women who created The Daily Show, or riffing on growing up Catholic , she made me laugh and gave me lots to ponder!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun book of essays by the co-creator of The Daily Show and Air America. Don’t read it if you think abortion is murder.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest essays of a hometown girl who helped create the Daily Show. She got her start at the Brave New Workshop and Dudley Riggs. Some laugh able description

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book, but I expected it to be laugh out loud funny and it just wasn't.

[Jackalacka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t know much about her prior to this and apparently I have been missing out on some witty political humor. Fascinating woman.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 95/101 for 2024. Wonderful collection of personal essays, with flawless delivery by the author herself. Some legit laugh out loud moments and some sad reflections about life and loss as well.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Dielarity
By Lizz Winstead

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reasons why i liked this book/Funny things I liked about this book:

Page 31: "if the idea of God is such a good one, why keep selling me on the bad parts? I don't see McDonald's ads trying to entice me by saying, "if you eat here every day, you will slowly clog your entire system with a sludge that will lead you to morbid obesity and premature death." No, the McDonald's executives are apparently smarter than the leaders of a centuries-old religion."

Page 82 about kids from a richer suburb of Minneapolis relying on Minneapolis to cure their country club boredom: "Wait. You can't buy your way out of boredom? Scratch GET RICH off my to-do list."

She is impulsive. "...I took my usual 10 minutes of introspection when making huge life decisions..."

She lived in one of Jack Kerouac's old apartments in NYC, and shared an apartment with the drummer from Soul Asylum once...she sounds so cool...

Page 134: "My favorite poor trick was taking out a cash advance on my credit card so I could pay the minimum payment on the same credit card. You know, like the government does."

Her concepts about comedy: I could relate to her idea of a "coughter," a laugh that starts out from the belly, then transitions into a frightening cough. I also agreed with her about potentially mean jokes and harvard's Hasty Pudding show/the large amount of Harvard comics in the business/ writing for Nighttime talk shows/Hollywood. I went to a Hasty Pudding show once and didn't think it was funny, so i agreed with her. She writes: "when the intention was cruel, the laughter was not cathartic; it made me feel sick." I absolutely couldn't agree more, she put the words right into my mouth. Truly funny self deprecating humor is difficult to pull off if you are an absolute dick.

Page 152 and her description of her dog, Edie's propensity to wolf down her own shit and other dog/animal's shit: "Watching Edie's shitscapades is spellbinding. The carnal pleasure she derives as she gobbles it up is both repellant and hypnotic. When I watch her score an errant turd, the clear ecstasy on her face is so intense, so voracious, so focused, that I can't help wonder- if only for a single misguided second- if eating poop could possibly be the single most enjoyable activity since enjoyable activities have been documented throughout history." I was in hysterics reading this. She tries adding raw meat to Edie's diet, getting her another dog to play with (the vet claimed Edie did it because she was missing raw meat or bored), then sprinkling Tabasco sauce on any available shit; but nothing worked and eventually she just accepts her imperfect, lovable, shit-eating dog. It's still funny to me as I write this "review."

Finally, this book made me realize I need to watch the Daily Show more, however she unintentionally made me realize I am basically the opposite of a "Foxogenarian:" elderly person with hearing loss who gets all information from Fox News, consequently forming opinions getting half of the truth. Liz is a passionate liberal (obviously), but when I read her definition of "Foxogenarian," I thought a little bit about how I was basically the exact opposite...

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Along with hundreds of other people I follow Lizz Winstead on Twitter. She’s a smart, quick-witted, honest feminist. I know she actively works with Planned Parenthood to raise money and awareness for pro-choice issues of sexual education, sexual freedom. Only recently I found out she created The Daily Show as well as started Air America. The Minneapolis native has been a political satirist and stand-up comedian for decades.

Lizz Free or Die is a collection of essays about family, friends and Winstead’s journey in her chosen career in the comedy world: both in stand-up and in television and radio. She’s a pioneer with her irreverent ideas and approach. She’s a leader and role model. She’s a tireless advocate for women’s rights. The essays are poignant, humorous, enlightening and insightful.

Cool things:

--Bob Mould wrote the music for The Daily Show at Winstead’s request
--In the 80s, NPR’s Michele Norris was once a housemate. Also Soul Asylum’s Dan Murphy.


Choice quotes:

“I’ve never been into babies—I didn’t and still don’t have the mommy gene—yet these women talked of nothing else.” (of baby showers and other parties when she was younger)

On being raised Catholic: “Truth be told, I am not inspired to embrace beliefs that terrify me. The hands, the crucifix, the deep red bleeding heart embedded with thorns that hung next to the kitchen door—none of these symbols motivated me to do one good thing in the name of anyone.”

“It’s all I really ever wanted to do: figure out what I’m good at and put it out into the world. It’s astounding how many people fought me on it.”

And home pregnancy tests? They are so last century. Nowadays, I think there’s an app that calls your iPhone to warn you that if you finish that third cosmo, you may wind up with a wombmate.”

“How could she say she was pro-life when she wasn’t pro my life?”

“I needed women in my life as I embarked on a career dominated by men, many who had the self-esteem of an abandoned pit bull and who weren’t shy about expressing their opinions of me, my humor, and women in comedy in general.”

“I have a theory about men: Any guy wearing more than one team insignia at the same time is a guy who won’t’ go down on me.”

“…the media’s appetite for tragedy porn was turning us into mush-brained fear barnacles. Callous barnacles, at that.”

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the memoirs and biographies of comedic writers I've read so far this year, Winstead's ranks above And Nothing but the Truthiness: The Rise (and Further Rise) of Stephen Colbert but below The Fry Chronicles. (Nothing will ever reach the level of Tina Fey's Bossypants, however.)

I enjoyed the shorter "messays" at the beginning of the book that were her observations on Catholicism and family issues. As they got longer as the book went on, the humor seemed to wane--the topics, though, were no less important, just not as humorous.

Life lessons, heard a million times, but it still doesn't hurt to repeat: "...one of my biggest mistakes was that I was going to prove I could do this alone, often rejecting good advice. I thought asking for help would be perceived as a sign of weakness." (223--on being named head writer of what would become "The Daily Show")

"Weeding out a bad idea before you have wasted time on it is one of the most useful skills to have in life." (242)

Living in DC made me appreciate her not-so-subtle crack at Marion Barry: "I felt like I was producing something akin to that Marion Barry (1) sting video, but with more attractive people. --> (1) For you children who don't watch Jeopardy!, Marion Barry was a former mayor of Washington, D.C., who in 1990 was caught on FBI surveillance video smoking crack in a motel room. Strangely enough, this behavior didn't deride his political career. After serving six months in jail for his crack-tastic video performance, he was elected to the DC city council in 1992, and mayor--again--in 1994." (250) Ah, Washington...

Something I feel like progressives say to themselves on a daily basis: "Facts were officially Public Enemy Number One...The assault on logic was as constant as the tide." (299)

UPDATE 7.13.2012: Alyssa Rosenberg did a fantastic interview with Winstead.

[John G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I expected, knew just a little about the author prior to finding this book for .75 at a used bookstore. Really enjoyed reading about the music/comedy scene in 80's Minneapolis, brought back memories. I'm very interested in comedy, satire, and humor and topical/political humor. There are very, very few comics who touch politics and even fewer women comics who do so. Loved getting insight into her comic philosophy and her writing orientation and approaches to the writing room. I've never seen her stand-up material, she's deeply liberal and perhaps even progressive, maybe a bit too much in the preachy side and I'm with her on most things. Anyway, well worth picking up!

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initially, Lizz Free or Die read like a collection of amusing yet unrelated vignettes from a comedienne's life. There's a certain writing style that comedians have, not sure what to call it, but it's the same thing I found not objectionable but not appealing in Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey's books. Anyway, the beginning of Lizz Winstead's book was rife with that style.

I didn't start enjoying it until she delved into the comedy/music scene in Minneapolis in the 1980's. There was a frenetic sharing of ideas happening there that reminded me very much of all the books I've read on the Lost Generation in Paris in the 20s. I also enjoyed Lizz recounting her start in comedy, how she moved into political humor, and her career, from touring stand-up to pioneering The Daily Show to working on Air America Radio. She documents the beginnings of her satirical view on the news and politics, when the big journalism shift in the early 1990s made news a spectacle (e.g. the Gulf War) and editorializing became the normal mode of delivery.

After I finished, I realized that the first few chapters were meant to show what shaped Lizz and inform the middle chapters that chronicle her career, but I would have preferred less of those chapters and more on the changes in journalism as she witnessed it and how that informed her comedy.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Winstead starts the book off by claiming it’s not a memoir, but rather a series of essays. Perhaps she strikes that tone because so many contemporary memoirs are navel gazing fluff. Regardless of how you characterize the book - a memoir or a series of essays in which Ms. Winstead reflects on her life , on how her early experiences shaped the woman she became and on how she continues to grow with each experience, it’s a well done book.

I developed a lot of appreciation for Ms. Winstead’s talents and intellect through this book. It’s laugh out-loud funny, but it’s also something I want my nieces to read when they are older because of the lessons she teaches about self-respect, family, leadership, and chasing your dreams.

I am not sure how to express this but I also think she did a good job of self-editing. Her sparse words packed a lot of meaning. There were aspects of the story where she could have spent pages explaining, but she alluded to what happened and it was enough.

And her anecdotes about growing up catholic were spot-on and laugh out loud funny. A book I plan to reread.