You'll Grow Out of It

by Jessi Klein (Author & Narrator)

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
YOU'LL GROW OUT OF IT hilariously, and candidly, explores the journey of the twenty-first century woman.

As both a tomboy and a late bloomer, comedian Jessi Klein grew up feeling more like an outsider than a participant in the rites of modern femininity.
In YOU'LL GROW OUT OF IT, Klein offers - through an incisive collection of real-life stories - a relentlessly funny yet poignant take on a variety of topics she has experienced along her strange journey to womanhood and beyond. These include her "transformation from Pippi Longstocking-esque tomboy to are-you-a-lesbian-or-what tom man," attempting to find watchable porn, and identifying the difference between being called "ma'am" and "miss" ("Miss" sounds like you weigh ninety-nine pounds).
Raw, relatable, and consistently hilarious, YOU'LL GROW OUT OF IT is a one-of-a-kind book by a singular and irresistible comic voice.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Humor, Audiobook, Essays, Biography, Comedy

8 pages, Audiobook

First published June 7, 2016

About the author

Jessi Klein is an American comedy writer and stand-up comic based out of New York City. Klein has regularly appeared on shows such as The Showbiz Show with David Spade and VH1's Best Week Ever and has performed stand-up on Comedy Central's Premium Blend. She provided commentary for CNN in the debates of the 2004 presidential election. A self-proclaimed "geek", Klein has appeared on the television specials for My Coolest Years: Geeks on VH1 and Rise of the Geeks on E!. Klein also provided the voice of Lucy in the animated pilot for Adult Swim's Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil.

Klein previously worked as a director of development for Comedy Central. Some of the shows she helped develop for the network were Chappelle's Show and Stella. She was the head writer and executive producer of Inside Amy Schumer.

Reviews

[Ivy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. I feel like this is only funny to a certain type-upper middle-class, educated white women from NYC. She lives a very luxe life and doesn't seem to be aware that it's not normal. She said several times throughout that she grew up poor, but didn't provide a context for that. Her lack of self-awareness bugged me. This has gotten some really good reviews so I'm disappointed I didn't enjoy it.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, only 2 stars (2.5 really). First, let me say that Klein is a good writer. I liked her "voice" and her many jokes. She's smart and funny. This book is a fast read and it's enjoyable too. But I've held back a little on a glowing review only because I can't shake my feeling of slight perturb over a few things. Let the pettiness begin...

First off, she starts off the first chapter or two - and continues here and there throughout the book - heavily emphasizing her dorkiness, her loser-ness, her strong desire to be girly and feminine and pretty and not such a hulking troll. Well, I made the mistake of YouTubing her a bit and, of course, she's gorgeous! So I find all this "ugly" business to be rather false. And as for the "I just wanna be girly" business...well, I've never read a book where a person was so damn girly. Spa vacations, always having lunch with a girlfriend, dropping designer brand names here and there, taking barre classes, and apparently never having trouble getting guys to want to sleep with her.

Did I mention she was gorgeous?

Also, by the end, I was a little weary of the me, me, me when she was in the chapters about having a baby. But then I'm reading an AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL book so I concede that I have no call to complain on that score. But there does seem to be an air of an absolute winner doing nothing but talk about what a loser they are. Annoying, no?

Well, all that said, I still enjoyed the book a lot. Like I said, Klein is funny, I like her attitudes and opinions about things. And she knows how to write.

[Evie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I do not intend this in any way to be an advice book, but if there happen to be any young women reading this who have an iota of desire to glean anything from my experience, let it be this: When you encounter a man wearing loafers with no socks, run. I once heard that the late Tim Russert also believed that a sockless man is not to be trusted, which means it is definitely true.”—Jessi Klein

I openly admit that I had no idea who Jessi Klein was when I dutifully put myself on the library list to be first to listen to the audible book. I was merely following Kirkus’ recommendation to read this book, as it was a “must-buy.” I am so glad I did! I laughed so hard, mostly out loud, and so did friends and family that I subjected to the book when they jumped into my car or were in hearing distance of my portable speaker. The ambiguity of Klein’s book is just like her improv stand-up: it falls somewhere in between a memoir and essays, a mixed bag of anecdotes that follow no linear timeline.

I’m having a hard time pegging my favorite chapters, one of which is “The Cad," quoted above, which was both parts hilarious and insightful regarding relationships and women’s standard about men. Another one was “Poodle vs. Wolf,” a hilarious analysis on the two categories that women fall under, which is something I’ve often found myself wondering, especially when I was bra shopping with a friend, and her jaw dropped when I didn’t buy a matching panty and bra set. I’m the utilitarian bra consumer who buys the basic colors necessary for the year to match…everything. Clearly I’m a wolf.

So I’m going to have to side with Kirkus on this one. It is a must-read and/or must-buy. I’ll leave that up to you.

[Lex · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I found two of the chapters amusing (barre and Anthropologie) overall I found Jessi Klein to be tone deaf and unrelatable. She starts off the book calling herself a tomboy and then most of the rest of the book is her obsessing about her appearance and men. She drops dollar amounts for things that seem outrageous but in such a casual way that she must not realize that it's not normal. Her very theatrical self deprecation come across as disingenuous, and the incessant discussion of her neuroses and low self esteem made me feel anxious. I honestly cannot figure out why she wrote this book. I guess someone said to her, "You should write a book!" and she was like, "OK, I'll just write whatever random thoughts are my brain on the paper and call it a book." Man, I wish I could do that. Damn you for fooling me again, celebrity (is she even a celebrity!?!) memoir!

[JanB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read by the author, this compilation of essays is an often hilarious, sometimes poignant, look into her life as a tomboy who never “grew out of it”. Underlying the snarky, smart humor there were insightful messages on ageism, sexism, and femininity.

I enjoyed her voice, and found her self-deprecating humor relatable. I often found myself nodding my head as I was laughing. As with most memoirs, some chapters are more successful than others, and is best read (or listened to) in short segments. There was only one chapter I thought should have been left out.

She makes much of her dorkiness, but when I googled her, I found her to be very pretty and attractive. Clearly, how you look on the outside bears no relationship to how you feel on the inside. The chapter on women as wolves vs poodles explains it in a hilarious way.

I highly recommend listening to this as an audiobook. There’s something about hearing a comedienne reading her own book that can’t be replicated by reading it on the page. Listening to her dish about her life was like sitting down and chatting with a good friend, except the friend has no filter and is much funnier.

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not sure how I feel about this. It was kind of all over the place. I’m not even sure what this was supposed to be. It was a non-linear collection of essays (or possibly expanded comedy routines) that were somewhat unrelated. A few were laugh out loud funny. In some, she made fierce, important points about aging, sexism, “how women are expected to be” and insecurities. In others, she discussed wanting to be a princess, relationship issues, and issuing ultimatums. In between, there were some majorly expensive spas and resorts visited and lots of label mentions that made her life seem very unrelatable and felt at odds with other pieces in the book. This was better than okay but I didn’t find it exceptionally funny...though again, I’m not sure whether it was supposed to be.
2.5 stars

[Melissa Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stand-up comedian Jessi Klein is a GREAT writer. The first half of this collection of memoir-essays is sooooo funny. I really loved the first 40% of this book.

But since the book opens with an essay about the author being a "Tom Man," I must state that there is a giant disconnect in this book. I consider myself kind of feminine, but I can seriously out-tomboy/out-tom-man Jessi Klein ANY day. And since she's only a few years older than me, this isn't millennial whinging on my part. I belong to the same generational demographic, and I can tell you right now, Jessi Klein isn't nearly the tom-man she claims to be. "Being a tomboy" just sounds funny to her, so she runs with it, but she isn't a "tom man," and she's not telling the truth.

This is a woman with a huge Inner Princess and some super low-self-esteem problems. While the mash-up is funny and insightful in her youth, a change in financial status in her mid-twenties/early thirties reveals an Inner Princess rules the roost of Jessi Klein's psyche, not her much-maligned little tomboy. The author goes through a big transformation in life: from being middle class and awkward to being much-much-higher-middle-class with lots and lots of discretionary spending money. Finally, the Inner Princess can come out to play! Fancy clothes, makeup, $375.00 pieces of lingerie, boyfriend drama, more boyfriend drama, and then a wedding proposal and wedding dress shopping-- these are the subjects that dominate this memoir. Jessi Klein vacations at super-expensive celebrity resorts and self-empowerment ranches and wins an Emmy and undergoes lots of fertility treatments so she can have her first baby at age 38 (or 39, maybe? by the time she finally conceived) -- because immediately after her wedding, her husband announced he wanted a baby, and Jessi Klein realized she really wanted a baby, too.

If you are a white, cis, able-bodied, hetero, upper-middle class woman who struggles with the dramas of entitlement and privilege, while busily trying to "have it all" and like, vacation on a yacht with movie stars and stuff, you'll probably love this book a lot more than I did.

But after finishing this memoir, I don't feel satisfied or happy -- I just feel tired and aggravated. (Actually, I must admit I didn't read the whole book -- I skipped "The Wedding Dress" essay/chapter because reading about Jessi Klein "the supposed tomboy" girling-out over a wedding dress was too barf-inducing to tolerate.)

If you are a woman who has spent her entire life trying to reconcile her Inner Princess with the hardships of "having it all" then this might be the perfect read for you. There's plenty of unexamined patriarchal norms and misogyny in this book to load up a cargo ship and sail around the globe a few times.

I recommend the first 40% of this book for Jessi Klein's great writing and hilarity. But the rest of "You'll Grow Out of It" is high-stakes Princess Drama, and I am just NOT the ideal reader for a tale of yet another affluent white woman who suffers from Princess Drama.

[Taryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some women keep a collection of shoes under their desks at work so they can quickly change from heels to flats. I am not one of those women. Keeping my shoes under my desk would result in a Pigpen-like hovering stink cloud stretching clear to the copy machine. Now that I'm in my thirties I've had to accept some hard realities about myself, and the fact that my feet stink like cheese left out on a sun porch is one of them.

Thus, the best gift Jessi Klein gave me in her memoir You'll Grow Out of It is the vocabulary to talk about my identity as a woman with stinky feet.

As she explains, there are two kinds of women in this world: wolves and poodles. Poodles are those women who are always effortlessly feminine, who exude sunshine from their bronzed, opaque skin and rosy fragrance as if they are potpourri sachets. That woman in your office whose gauzy blouse is still completely unwrinkled at 4:55? Poodle.

Then, there are the rest of us—the wolves. As Klein puts it, “Wolves sweat a lot.” It's not that wolves can't be pretty, it's just that it takes a lot of elbow grease to create a good look.

The whole time I listened to that chapter, I felt like holding my hands up in rapture and hollering, “Preach!” Finally hearing another woman give voice to thoughts that have been knocking around in my head for years was...cathartic. Have you ever felt like you didn't quite know how to be a girl, even though you are one? Jessi Klein gets it, and she turns it into something you can laugh about.

As with most memoirs and essay collections, not every chapter resonated so deeply with me. Some of the later stories about her dating and married life come across a bit whiny and self-indulgent. Klein and her husband had a long and difficult path to marriage, neither of them sure at times that they were ready to commit. That's a common experience, certainly, but when she started making sweeping generalizations about “all guys” freaking out before getting married, I had to raise a skeptical eyebrow. Maybe Adam will morph into a commitment-phobe any day now and I'll be proven wrong here, but he proposed seven weeks after meeting me...and that was six years ago...soo...not all guys, okay? (And now he's stuck with his wolf wife and her stinky cheese feet FOREVER!)

More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com

[Ctgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first moment I started to realize that some larger problem was boiling to the surface, that this wasn't just about the dress, but rather a deep cauldron of self-doubt in my own taste-and not just my own taste, but my entire self.

Never heard of Jessi Klein before I heard a podcast interview(writer for SNL, and Inside Amy Schumer). She seemed smart, funny and it seemed as though there was some snark hiding behind the veneer she put on for the New York Times podcast, so I decided to give this a whirl. I wasn't disappointed and I got more than just laughs and snark. She also revealed insecurities, doubts and worries that reminds you that she's just a normal person like everyone else.

A moment she remembers when her mother taught her to put on perfume by walking through a cloud spritzed in the air ;

My mother was right: I didn't want to reek. I wanted to be like her. She smelled amazing. And I was fascinated by this ritual, as ridiculous as it looked. I loved that it was something my dad didn't know to do. I felt like I'd been inducted into a secret society. Women walk through clouds.

Traveling;

When I arrive at the Delta terminal, I find out that not only do they have no power, but miraculously, in a post-9/11 world, they have absolutely no plan for dealing with having no power-no emergency generator, no nothing.....
A guy with a megaphone literally tells us it's a "crapshoot," which is never a word you want to her when it comes to anything regarding air travel.

Getting older;

I was having one of those moments where you're feeling a little insecure and you want to prompt your boyfriend to say something complimentary by asking a question to which he must surely know there is only one acceptable answer.
What I asked him was, "Do you think I'm going to age well?"
He replied: "I know you're going to age well, because you're already aging well."
Oy.

I am now less concerned about my face (or as Nora Ephron warned, my neck) than I am about my newest problem area, my hands. In the last two years, my hands have taken on a decidedly gnarled affect. I'm not sure how or when my knuckles got thicker, but now my hands look like wizard hands, like they should be clutching a crystal ball.

And the magazines, the magazines. I don't know why I read them and I feel guilty about it, but there's nothing I can do, I want to look at the pictures even though they sometimes make me feel so bad about my stupid normal human appearance that my soul actually aches.

Poodle vs. Wolf;
Jessi and another writer, Emily were watching an Angelina Jolie interview,
"Isn't is amazing." Emily asked, "that we're the same species she is? It doesn't even feel like we are the same species."
"I know," I said. I continued the riff: It's like with dogs. A poodle and a wolf are both technically dogs, but based on appearances it doesn't make any conceivable sense that they share a common ancestor. We decided that some women are poodles and some women are wolves.

Buying lingerie;
On Victoria's Secret
There is nothing in their catalog that sanctions what I do, which is to wear the same six pairs of basic Gap underwear in rotation for years until they start to resemble tattered old pirate flags.

She brought back a selection of gauzy little outfits, all of which were paired with thongs as the bottom half. "Do you have any sets that aren't thongs?" I asked. She looked at me like I was asking if she would like to join ISIS. They did not. I closed the curtain and put on the medium thong. I looked like a groundhog wearing a tiny belt.

Buying a wedding dress;
Dresses are brought out from back rooms with somber reverence, like the Torah being revealed from the ark.


A funny and at times poignant look into the life of Jessi Klein and all of us.

7/10

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun and entertaining, but as I have complained w other white lady essay books, I wish the author would have more awareness of her wealthy white lady-specific world view. The book would be so much better, and ring truer for a broader readership, if Klein wouldn't act like everyone reading is like her, and gets where she's coming from. Just a simple aknowledgement or two would really work wonders in terms of relatability. Still, really great audiobook reading by the wry and funny author. Kinda like a nonfic beach read?

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering that this memoir was written by a comedy writer, I was quite disappointed that I never laughed while reading it.

[Julie Ehlers · Rating 2 out of 5]

You'll Grow Out of It started off so promisingly. In the first essay, "Tom Man," Klein (a writer for Inside Amy Schumer, among other shows) discusses the dilemma of being an undeniably straight, cis woman with no gender dysphoria, who nevertheless just doesn't fit into the expected constraints of being a straight, cis woman in U.S. society. I'd never seen gender expectations discussed quite so bluntly (and humorously) before—most white, straight, cis feminist writers who rail against conventional gender norms seem to have little trouble fitting into them anyway. This essay was different. I related to "Tom Man," and it really set me up for a unique reading experience.

Which the rest of the book did not deliver.

Most of You'll Grow Out of It is about Klein desperately trying to fit into typical gender norms and (sometimes) failing, but there's always a sense that she understands she is "supposed" to fit into these norms and that not fitting in makes her kind of a loser. In fact, that's where most of the humor in the rest of the book lies: "I don't fit in, haha, what a loser I am!" I didn't find it funny. And I really wasn't interested in essays about wedding dress shopping or about how long it took her boyfriend to propose. Who is interested in that, really? Even the most conventional straight cis female is probably bored with that stuff by now.

Closer to the end were essays about how she became a comedy writer, which I liked a little better, and an essay about her infertility, typically my least favorite thing to read about in all the world, was surprisingly unterrible. But it was too late to save the reading experience for me. This is clearly one of those books that sounds good as an idea but just doesn't work in practice. If you want to read a book by a writer for Amy Schumer's show, might I suggest Amy Schumer's book? As for this one, it was a disappointment and I don't recommend it to anyone.

[Rachel Kramer Bussel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to see Jessi Klein perform and host comedy at Rififi in NYC back in the day. She's now the Emmy-winning head writer on Inside Amy Schumer. So while I expected her memoir in essays to be funny, which it is, I did not expect to close it with tears streaming down my face, but that's exactly what happened.

I loved these essays, even when I couldn't relate (she hates baths, I love them), because they are so specific and manage to cover things like epically bad dating choices and feeling like "dogs--t" (the chapter title about the experience or winning an Emmy) in a way that truly makes you feel like you know her. She is not maudlin or neurotic or hysterical but she has self-doubt and fears and she perfectly balances delving into them with how they influence her future actions. Her chapter on how to be a comedian should be required reading for anyone going into a creative or non-traditional field (spoiler alert: don't let your parents ruin your dreams!).

But what had me pretty much bawling was her final chapter on infertility. We were both born in 1975 and I'm facing some of the same TTC struggles but until now had never read a humorous but also heartfelt take on the experience of Trying, as she puts it (if you hate infertility acronyms please do yourself a favor and read hers, they are truly the best). She both takes it seriously but recognizes the privilege of taking it so seriously you practically put your life on hold to make new life. She made me laugh about a subject that normally makes me want to kick and throw things and be utterly morose.

That chapter alone makes the book worth it to anyone who's failed at getting pregnant. I seriously might reread this whole book again soon. Highly recommended!

[Lauren Danton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir/collection of comedic essays from Jessi Klien. Klien talks about what it's like growing up a Tom-boy, following your dreams, spending countless hours shopping for a wedding dress and hating yourself for being 'that person' and feeling like dogshit at the Emmys.
While we don't agree on baths (whole chapter on hating baths that I read while in the tub), we do agree on being called Ma'am. And Jessi if you ever read this, I did get the Miss Jackson reference and thought "fuck, the grocery store clerk wasn't being a jerk".
I am officially a Ma'am.

[Kaitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

hmm, I was disappointed with this book. And, in the spirit of being constructive let me tell you why:
1. I should note I'm a big reader of female essay collections, in particular, female comedian essay collections. I love them and read then a lot -- particularly from women who I am familiar with.
I am not intimately familiar with Jessi Klein.
I'm aware this could have shaped my feelings on the book.
I tried to imagine that is say Mindy Kaling had written this book, would I feel differently?
The answer, after much searching, is no...

2. Most of the stories do not have a comprehensive narrative arc. They end abruptly with an attempt at a lesson or full circle, but it never actually made it there for me.
I wasn't sure if the writer had a central theme to the book, but the individual essays came up short.

3. Which leads me to the central theme. I originally thought it was a "what makes a woman" or "how to be a non-feminine woman" which I was down for. Then it sort of transitioned into "how I achieved my dreams at a later age on the timeline, also fuck timelines" which I was also down for. Then it transitioned into a parenting type thing, which I was less down for just because that's not my personal interest at the moment.
The thing is, the author didn't really deliver on any of those themes.
The essay on the Emmys is interesting and also could have been a good look into how society is not designed to accommodate pregnant women. The focus was on being a princess.
I really enjoyed the essay on how she first decided to go for stand-up at the apparently ancient age is 30 and pursue her dreams. That was very inspiring.
Really, the first half of the book, I just found boring because even though in the intro she kind of rails against this whole female industrial type complex, she ends up just leaning into it.
However, I did appreciate that she never really bashed the traditional feminine as bad, which is important. So often this dichotomy is set up for women and "non feminine woman" must think "feminine women" are bad etc. She didn't do that.
But also, she didn't engage with this idea of Tom Man that she created and what it actually means.
These essays just sort of read like her understanding of what it is to become an adult woman is to give into what mainstream culture tells us woman do and want.
So, what's the point here?

5. This book wasn't for me and I didn't get it.
I thought she had some great zings in there and a couple good essays that I enjoyed.
ETA: That one line about "The only time I have seen this bathroom unclean is when someone did a #2 in the washroom and fled when it wouldn't flush. That someone was me." made me bust a gut.

I think this could have used a tighter edit in general. Not only for the theme rant I apparently just went on, but because I found the non-linear timeline confusing and disorganized.
I would love to read more from this author in her decisions to go for her dream at a "later" age. I think it's something we don't hear about super often and would be inspiring for people to read.

I would say feel free to give this book a read and develop your own opinion. it's a short,easy read.
sorry for the intense review there. I have a lot in my mind and wrote this on the train.
mind the typos.
ETA: I went through and edited the typos.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this memoir! It's hilarious, touching and well written. I hadn't heard of Jessi Klein before but I had read good reviews of her book and it truly did not disappoint! I recommend it highly!

I forgot to mention that I loved Jessi's comment about the acronym FOMO which stands for Fear Of Missing Out. This means that you think other people are having more fun than you and you wish you were doing what they did. But when get there you realize it's not that great after all (see page 249). I hope to remember that if I'm envious of someone else's life.

[britt_brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unfamiliar with comedy writer and stand up comedian Jessi Klein prior to this, but I grabbed it on a friend’s recommendation. Humorous personal stories are an audio dream. Klein amuses with essays about female expectations (both general and specific), her comedy career, and fertility struggles. My favorite essay was “Get the Epidural.” I wish I hadn’t waited until hour 11 for mine. This collection was just what I needed.

By the way: I’m so over reviews stating that an author is oblivious to her/his privilege as if it is something that has to be blatantly addressed. Everyone deserves to tell their story. Good freaking grief.

[Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessi Klein’s new compilation of essays is a great addition to the growing collection of books by famous female comedians. From beginning to end, she writes about her life and her ever present need/struggle to fit in. Her internal battle about her life and dreams versus her family’s dreams for her occupied a substantial part of her life until she finally decided to throw off the strictures of her upbringing and follow her own path.

Some of the stories deal with this internal battle. I didn’t enjoy those as much (though Connie which deals with her therapist was very funny). Others address topics I found a lot funnier like shopping for a wedding dress and taking a bath. I am totally with her on disliking baths and finding no relaxation from taking one. My favorite chapters were Ma’am where she discusses the difference in being called ma’am and miss and Get the Epidural because I agreed with every aspect of it and it was laugh odd loud hilarious. The Bachelor was also hysterical (particularly the ending), and I may have to start watching that show based on that section of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was very glad to have read it. Thanks to Shelf Awareness and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Nerdette Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-have for your feminist bookshelf!

[Grace {Rebel Mommy Book Blog} · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review
You may be wondering who is Jessi Klein and why should you read her memoir - or maybe not. Either way, I am going to help you out with the answers.
WHO IS JESSI KLEIN?
Jessi Klein is a stand-up comedian was well as a writer for various things and was once a director of development for Comedy Central. She currently is a writer and executive producer on Inside Amy Schumer.


WHY SHOULD YOU READ HER MEMOIR?
So unless you are new to the blog you know I prefer to listen to my memoirs. Something about listening to these famous people tell you about their lives is fun. Still, I had heard a lot of early praise for this one so I had to try it out. I am so happy I did. She had me laughing, nodding my head in agreement with so much of what she said and in awe of some of the cooler things she has done.

She talks about her early life and growing up as a tomboy and becoming somewhat of a tom man. We see her go through various relationships and what went wrong with them as well as what went right with her husband. We learn the difference between Poodles and Wolves (she is talking about ladies, not the actual animals) as well as the difference between being called Ma'am or Miss (and man there is a HUGE difference). We also see a little about her career and what pushed her to do what she loves. I honestly was expecting a bit more on the career but didn't necessarily miss it. Towards the end she touches on motherhood and I found it refreshingly honest.

Even if you don't know who she is I still think this was an awesome book of her stories and experiences that anyone could enjoy. You will laugh at times and feel for her at times but I think most will find her relatable. If you like a funny lady memoir (and you know I do!!) I would totally recommend this.This review was originally posted on Rebel Mommy Book Blog

[Sarah Obsesses over Books & Cookies · Rating 4 out of 5]

comedians writing books about their life in their own funny way are a dime a dozen. I've read a bunch but skip another bunch because they can be so self promoting and dishonest in the form of exaggeration in that they make themselves look a certain way (I get that memoirs can be the same but.. still) However when one is done in a way - even when I can't relate to the rich or famous lifestyle- that is open and vulnerable yet funny and unique to their own style I DIG IT. This was one of those. There wasn't anything spectacular about it but I Jessi Klein (who i hadn't ever heard of before the book) was entertaining and smart, but not overly so. She wrote a lot about her life being a girl who wasn't a girly-girl, who didn't get boy crazy when everyone else was, who didn't develop till later who didn't get a real relationship until her 20's and when she did she crashed hard and went through angst and sadness and imaginary physical ailments. She talked a little about her dad who influenced some of her decisions like what school to go for or to turn down a job to work with David Letterman. She also talked about finding the guy she married, how that wedding almost didn't happen and the process of IVF.

[Elysse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first few chapters (laughed out loud a few times), but once I read beyond that, I felt gaslit by the promise of a “relatable tomboy coming of age story”. A better description would be “a cis het woman identifies strongly as a tomboy early in life as she struggles to get her shit together, but then turns into an extremely privileged, materialistic, fat-phobic adult who loves to indulge in traditionally feminine things (see: wanting to be a “prinzess” (her spelling) during the Emmy’s, shopping at Anthropologie) while trying to pass her heavy drinking off as a quirky personality trait and pretending she still “doesn’t get how to actually be a woman.” The last section of this book is about her struggle getting pregnant, wherein she attempts to make it funny but really it’s just sad (every anatomical thing is tailed by “ew!”). Dang, just go to therapy like everyone else.

[Meg - A Bookish Affair · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best kinds of funny books are those that make you laugh out loud no matter where you are. There are books that are funny but don't necessarily make to laugh with abandon. There are other books, like "You'll Grow Out of It" that will make you make a scene in public. If you want to laugh, this book is for you.

The book almost feels like a collection of short stories with Klein musing about different periods of her life and making observations about life in general in a very entertaining way. One of the chapters that I loved the most was about woman as either being poodles or wolves (I'm so a wolf). She has an uncanny way of making you think about things from a different perspective while having a lot of laughs along the way!

This book is hilarious and I definitely found myself laughing out loud but I appreciated that Klein was also able to stretch herself into talking about difficult subjects as well. Her writing is incredibly versatile. She talks about relationships and infertility in serious ways that were really helpful for me and could definitely be helpful for others. Overall, this is a great book that will make you laugh and may even make you cry!

[Margaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

Depressing. How can a book written by a comedian be depressing?

[Julie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
After this recent carnival of an election, I was depressed, searching the library for the last unread-by-me David Sedaris book for some humorous escapism. Unfortunately, they didn't have the Sedaris book I was seeking, but I did find this book by Jessi Klein in the same "Humor" section.

Jessi Klein, whose name I didn't previously know, is a comedy writer and a stand-up comedian, so I approached these essays with that attitude, that she was going to make me laugh. Essay after essay, I certainly wasn't laughing, and, to tell you the truth, I was becoming more depressed. There's a lot of sadness and disappointment here, a lot of what I wasn't expecting or looking for. I was hoping for a David Sedaris feel, and I didn't get it.

However, I made it through to the end, after considering putting the book down several times. It's hard to explain. The writing is very good, which is always my first "requirement." Also, she's honest, and that is always appealing. But, like I've already mentioned, a lot of the material feels sad, mixed with a handful of great one-liners and some funny observations. She's fairly explicit about things we do in the bathroom, and that's always been a personal turn-off for me. Plus, I really don't think she and I view most things in a similar way.

I'm glad I didn't give up, though, because my two favorite essays: "How I Became a Comedian" and "Get the Epidural" were at the end. They were thought provoking and humorous essays, so I did finish the book on a positive note.

All in all, kind of a mixed bag for me.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Speaking as a true tom-man (a hardcore tomboy as a kid who is still not girly at 58, who didn't wear any makeup at all until after 40, who's straight and happily married to a man and would happily drop all external trappings of femininity if I wouldn't feel like a freak), I loved Jessi's accounting of herself as one. But she exaggerates, because despite the typical comedienne self-mocking (I'm looking at you, gorgeous Tina Fey), she is stunningly attractive and appears to be quite feminine. True tom-men like me never dated much, have no idea how to flirt, and have a hard time being anything other than buddies with men-- and yet Jessi seems to have dated dozens and dozens of men, who came out of the woodwork to pursue her. So that bothered me. But otherwise she is very funny, very smart, very perceptive, and brutally honest. I couldn't put it down.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly timed reading material (between several heavy topics!) Wonderful light-hearted book full of relatable LOL moments and reminders not to take oneself too seriously. I couldn't help but compare it to a recently read memoir by Bonnie MacFarlane, which was far raunchier, IMO, but also featured the cover shot of the comedian author taken during their childhoods, which was cute mind you, but makes for unsettling feelings when you get through TMI sexual scenarios occurring in their adolescence/adulthood.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So hilarious, so relatable. Bonus: this was an audiobook and she narrates, which I think makes it all the better. She is so self-effacing and unafraid. She'd say something like "oh, and there was this one asshole who was [doing asshole-ish thing]" and "that asshole was me." And it was absolutely something I would do/have done. Many times I desperately wished I had a friend beside me I could grab onto and say, "OMG! listen to this!"

[Tyler Goodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

So funny, sharp, and honest there is literally no way you will not love this book. Unless you are awful and then you should stay away from me.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In the last 5-10 years, there has been a real comedy memoir boom. I myself have probably read at least two dozen, if not more. A lot of these were written by women. Off the top of my head, here are some female comedians who have written memoirs: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Samantha Bee, Tig Notaro, Julie Klausner, Sarah Thyre, Merrill Markoe, Jen Kirkman, Sarah Silverman, Aisha Tyler, Rachel Dratch, Allie Brosh .The Chelsea Handler/Sarah Colonna/Heather McDonald group has a few between them; and let’s not forget about Caitlin Moran, Jenny Lawson, Jen Lancaster, Laurie Notaro, Susan Jane Gilman, or Sloane Crosley.

The field is CROWDED, is what I’m saying.

After a while it becomes hard to judge them on their own merits, in a way. The question becomes less “Is this good” and more “Is this better than the seventy-seven similar books that I’ve read?” In this case, the answer is:

A little, maybe?

Jessi Klein is undoubtedly a talented, funny writer. In some instances she offers an unexplored perspective of being an “adult tomboy”, which I liked a lot. However, to me that was really the only thing that set her book apart at all from the sea of funny memoirs we’re currently drowning in.

I guess we end up with what you’d call a “soft recommend”. You’ll probably enjoy it well enough if you read it, and who knows, maybe her experiences will resonate more with you than they did me and you’ll fall in love with it. But it probably won’t be forefront in my mind when someone’s asking for comedy suggestions.

TL:DR Jessi Klein's collection is funny, but not quite funny enough to stand out from the crowd.