The Wreckage of My Presence

by Casey Wilson

Laugh-out-loud, deeply insightful, and emotion-filled essays from multi-talented actress, comedian, podcaster, and writer Casey Wilson.

Casey Wilson has a lot on her mind and she isn’t afraid to share. In this dazzling collection of essays, skillfully constructed and brimming with emotion, she shares her thoughts on the joys and vagaries of modern-day womanhood and motherhood, introduces the not-quite-typical family that made her who she is, and persuasively argues that lowbrow pop culture is the perfect lens through which to understand human nature.

Whether she’s extolling the virtues of eating in bed, processing the humiliation over her father’s late in life perm, or exploring her pathological need to be liked, Casey is witty, candid, and full of poignant and funny surprises. Humorous dives into her obsessions and areas of personal expertise—Scientology and self-help, nice guys, reality television shows—are matched by touching meditations on female friendship, grief, motherhood, and identity. 

Reading The Wreckage of My Presence is like spending time with a close friend—a deeply passionate, full-tilt, joyous, excessive, compulsive, shameless, hungry-for-it-all, loyal, cheerleading friend. A friend who is ready for any big feeling that comes her way and isn’t afraid to embrace it.

Bed person --
The wreckage of my presence --
To all the boys I loved before --
Cool girl --
A saber story --
Send in the clowns --
Flyentology --
Hide your phones --
Expect a miracle --
Hiked out --
The BBQ --
Tears of a clown --
Happy endings --
My husband's just not that into me; or Afrin: a love story --
Grandpa's pretty girl --
It doesn't do --
What dis --
Open-door policy --
Mother's day --
People don't know how to act --
Gimme some sugar; or, the wreckage of my presence redux

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

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 4, 2021

About the author

Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson (born October 24, 1980) is an American actress, comedienne, and screenwriter. She starred as Penny Hartz in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings for which she was twice nominated to the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and has since starred in comedies such as Showtime's Black Monday, Apple TV's The Shrink Next Door, Hulu's The Hotwives and Marry Me on NBC. Other notable work includes supporting roles in films such as Gone Girl, Julie & Julia, and The Meddler, recurring in the HBO series Mrs. Fletcher, the Amazon comedy One Mississippi, and the Netflix series Atypical, and her 2013 Sundance film Ass Backwards, which she co-wrote and starred in with her creative partner June Diane Raphael. Wilson co-hosts (alongside Danielle Schneider) the Earwolf podcast Bitch Sesh.

Wilson made her first major television appearances with a two-season stint as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2008 to 2009.

Reviews

[Basic B's Guide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well I blew through this fabulous collection of essays which felt more like a memoir to me. I kinda want to be bffs with Casey now.

Witty and full of heart.

Highly recommend listening to the audiobook as narrated by Casey Wilson.

[Deandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: even better the second time around and in audio. Don't recommend listening in public because of how suddenly you may end up crying at any given moment.

Perfect. Even better than I imagined. I laughed, I cried. I can’t wait to listen to the audiobook when it’s ready, because I will reread this as much as possible.

[Ellen Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of essays written by someone who is honestly so funny and talented it might be illegal?



Sign me up!

This certainly isn’t a bad book, just underwhelming. I just wish this book was as delightful and effervescent as Casey Wilson herself.

Thanks to Goodreads FirstReads and Harper Collins for the arc!

[Leslie Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of essays and/or musings by Casey Wilson. She's obviously a very outgoing, vivacious, and very funny person. She was honest and self deprecating at times. I appreciated her explanations of some of what goes on behind the scenes in the show business industry. There were a lot of places I wish she had gone a little deeper. She often went off on tangents that led me into thinking these were musings by the author, especially on current pop culture subjects.
I thought I would enjoy this more.
I won this in a Goodreads and Harper Collins giveaway. The thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Some people just don't need to write a memoir (or essays). A few of the stories were funny where I chuckled, but never laughed hard. I like her from a lot of the shows she's done, but she came off as quite selfish/privileged and scatterbrained throughout, especially in the storytelling which often drifted from starting somewhere to going somewhere completely else, only to wrap up the original point in one final paragraph. By the second half of the book, I just wanted it to be over. There were a few stories that I skimmed.

[Gretchen Rubin]

A hilarious, surprising memoir by an actor whose work I love. Also, Kansas City connection.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all honestly I didn't really 100% know who Casey Wilson was when I started this book—but I had heard good things about her and I also like reading basically all humor books that are published by women.

I loved it. I think that when most people say, "I laughed out loud!" they don't really mean it, but I completely did laugh out loud. I also cried, which is the mark of a truly great piece of humor writing. Wilson writes with great energy and compassion, and you can't help but fall in love with her and family as you read. I especially appreciated her discussion of women and anger, and her willingness to talk about silly topics with the same gusto as serious ones. Her thoughts on grief, especially surrounding the loss of her mother, are wonderful.

Like many books like this, there are a couple of filler essays—like the one about her time on her television show or the one about her podcast. I know these are added for her fans of the shows, but I found them not nearly as interesting or insightful as the others, even if they fill in some of her storyline.

[Leah Agirlandaboy]

This wasn’t it. (A) I don’t know who she is, and (B) I’m not a fan of people who revel in excusing habitual, deliberate, acknowledged bad behavior with a nose scrunch and a “tee-hee.” (I like comedy just fine, but generally not when it involves being an asshole.) I didn’t find this relatable, and most of the humor was based on the same formula of simple hyperbole that builds to a fever pitch and then tries to wrap up with something unoriginally poignant. I said “yikes” a lot.

An excerpt: “When I gave this little speech to my sister-in-law, she went home, called her best friend, and said, ‘My brother is dating a selfish psychopath.’ And here I thought this routine had the same kind of lovable quirkiness as Zooey Deschanel’s bangs and glasses. Turns out in both cases, people were over it.” Yeeeah. 😬

[Brittney Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve recently started re-watching Happy Endings for the millionth time and remembered that Casey Wilson recently released a memoir. I’ve loved Casey Wilson since the moment I saw her on SNL. Why? I had no idea but since that time I’ve seen and listened to almost everything thing she’s done and now it makes complete sense. All she wants to be is normal and that is something she is definitely not. She’s so weird and passionate and specific about everything and I fully relate to her. She makes me so happy and listening to her tell her stories was a special gift.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for the story, rounded up for an excellent audio performance. This book feels hard to rate, though - it has both a beautiful, heartbreaking and nuanced take of moving through grief after losing your mother, and is also a hard-to-listen-to example of why diet culture is such bulllllshit. I don’t know if this latter piece would’ve felt so glaring to me if I hadn’t been on my own unlearning/body acceptance *journey* (I hate that word, but here we are), but it both started this book off with a jarring bang and finished it off with an only slightly redemptive acceptance.

I loved Casey Wilson’s voice (both literal and figurative) in this and found her pieces on motherhood, family, and the loss of her mom the most beautiful and engaging to listen to. The bits and pieces here and there about her career trajectory were an interesting behind-the-scenes, and a hat tip to any Happy Endings fans. But y’all. I just couldn’t shake how much I hated the diet and body talk. I’d stay away if this is even remotely a trigger for you.

Thanks to libro.fm and the publisher for a chance to listen to an ALC!

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I have had a few issues with some of the things Casey has said on the Bitch Sesh podcast (though I love Danielle!), but wanted to read this anyway for the Housewives stuff. I went in expecting to walk away disliking Casey. But god dammit if this wasn’t a delightful, relatable, heartbreaking read. I rarely literally LOL when reading, and this book had me doing it several times. Though it was mostly fun and funny, there were a couple of chapters that were just heart wrenching. I had heard a few of the stories included on the podcast but enjoyed revisiting them here. The writing was ALL Casey, no ghostwriter needed, and on the page her tone came off wittier, smarter, and just...better? than it does on the podcast. Dare I say it was one of the best collections of essays I’ve ever read? And I’ve read a lot. I will be rereading at some point. 4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5.

[Henrietta]

Thanks to libro fm and harper audio for an advanced listener’s copy, I enjoyed this book and all the lol moments. The audiobook made the experience very interesting.
It was an amazing memoir , I loved how she dealt with the grief over her mother’s death. Most of the author’s memories were funny and relatable, and even though I knew nothing about the author before this read I had such a fun time throughout the book, definitely recommend!

[Vito · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat! Almost every essay hinges between pure comedy and tragedy of living when a loved one is no longer with us.

[Katey Flowers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Libro.fm’s ALC program for the audio of this book.

I wanted a fairly short, light hearted audiobook to listen to while cleaning and doing laundry today, and this seemed to fit the Bill. I did not know who the author was and have not been exposed to any of her other work. I think those who are already a fan would enjoy this a lot more than I did. The humour didn’t really tickle my funny bone. The exploration of grief and motherhood were interesting, I just don’t think I’m the target audience for this so it was overall a pretty neutral experience for me.

CW: disorder eating, body image and shaming, substance abuse,

[kvazimodla · Rating 4 out of 5]

In turns insightful, hilarious and annoying.
It's good to remember how much we all share in this life. From time to time painfully honest, and certainly touched some cords for me.

[Joachim Stoop · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

There are indeed hilarious and heartfelt anecdotes here, among -for me- less interesting parts (f.e. I don't see the point in an analysis of TV-series which I didn't watch)

[britt_brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big thank you to Meg for putting this on my radar, and for Cindy's head's up on the recent #audible sale! Y'all are just the best bookish friends! I wasn't previously familiar with Wilson, and this was an unexpected, but absolute, delight. She's sincere and funny as hell. I just want to hang out with her, to be honest. She's seems like fun and is, no doubt, an amazing conversationalist. Really solid memoir!

[Jamele (BookswithJams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid listener to the podcast Bitch Sesh, I have been a huge fan of Casey Wilson’s for a while now. As such, some of the references in this book were not new to me, but they were just as enjoyable as when I heard them the first time. Obviously I believe that the audiobook is the way to go when reading this book, and it is one that I highly recommend. With it being in essay format, it is one that I will easily refer to again and again.

I love how she is truly herself and not ashamed to be vulnerable in this book, and this is exactly why I adore her. I loved everything about this book, but be warned, as she works through her grief over losing her mother and her issues with their relationship, the last essay is so touching and heartwarming that I found myself at work wiping my eyes and having to shut my office door for a minute to get it together.

Thank you to LibroFM and Harper for the ALC to review.

[Cari · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Audio version) I know I say this a lot, but I feel like I’d be best friends with Casey after listening to this book. And for Happy Endings fans, the chapter about her experience on the show is worth the read on its own. While this book is full of laughs, it’s also a sweet and endearing look at grief, parenthood, friendship, postpartum depression, rage at the patriarchy, and what it means to be the “uncool” girl in Hollywood.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was this a life changing book? No. But did it make me feel like I was in my university kitchen on a Sunday morning chatting with my friends about all topics possible? yes!

From real housewives to dealing with grief, Casey is able to cover all topics through comedy that often made me smile... Hiked out might have been the best essay with the Paul scuba diving incident. I didn't really know who Casey was before starting this book but I definitely have to start watching Happy Endings.

[nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been waiting for Wilson to drop a book since her Lenny article about anger in 2016. It was as vulnerable and hilarious as I’d hoped it would be. It is a love letter to her mother, and the mother she is becoming, and the Real Housewives franchise. Made me want to dive into Happy Endings all over again!

[Ben Evangelista · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED!
Truly laughed out loud at almost every essay. I would love to revisit and listen to this as an audiobook. Casey’s style felt very Sedaris adjacent- enthralling and meandering stories from her life.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to listen to on a long car ride-I laughed so much, I unexpectedly cried, and I was reminded of my best friend. Is she the same person as Casey Wilson? This is evidence they may be, and I love them both.

[Sara Blad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed and I cried, often at the same time.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Audio) There were parts of this I really liked, but I was deeply uncomfortable during the final chapter. Not so much the subject itself - Casey’s experiences are her own to sort through - but the tone she takes when describing her experiences with food and sugar and dieting is *so* fatphobic and shame-y, it was tough to get through. Unfortunately ended on a sour note for me.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is FANTASTIC! I listened to the audiobook and hearing Casey Wilson narrate her story is everything. Funny, relatable, self-depricating, and sometimes heart-wrenching. Will give you all the feels!

[Mark N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Casey Wilson a lot, I think she is one of the funniest comedians out there (see “Happy Endings”).

Not sure what I was expecting out of this book. I was hoping more about her time on SNL and HE, but got more of ruminations on “Real Housewives “ and Soulcycle. Had to bail halfway in.

[Nicola Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Female comedian memoirs are my jam. This essay collection had some hits and misses for me. Loved learning about her relationships and struggles with food addiction. The Real Housewives chapter was lost on me, and I definitely wanted more than a passing glance about her time on SNL.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, funny, clever and heartwarming.
What more could you want?!?
Loved it!

[Maddy Cripe · Rating 5 out of 5]

casey ruined my life by influencing me to start watching real housewives in the year 2021 and for that… i thank her.

for real though in terms of comedian memoirs that i’ve read recently this was one of my favs. i think it’ll be more enjoyable if you’re familiar with casey and her voice at all but who knows, i definitely want to listen to the audiobook at some point. laughed out loud a lot and there were some really emotional moments as well. read it in one day so it’s a blur but i greatly enjoyed myself and now i’ll go back to binging rhobh and listening to casey’s pod!

cw: lots of weight/body image talk in some of the essays