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Turns Out, I'm Fine: How Not To Fall Apart
Judith Lucy was just Great!
Sure, the last remaining member of her immediate family had died, she was menopausal, she suspected her career was in the shitter and it seemed like the world was going to hell in a handbasket – but she was about to move in with the love of her life! Everything would work out because SHE HAD A MAN.
Then, in the space of twenty-four hours, her relationship came apart and so did she. A broken heart became the catalyst for a complete existential melt down. She was nearly fifty, suddenly alone and unsure about every aspect of her life.
How had this happened? Should she blame one of her four parents? What part had the comedy world played and was her disastrous history with men about more than just bad taste?
In her most candid and insightful book yet, Judith figures out what went wrong and then turns her attention to finding out what her life might look like if it went right. She tries everything from dating a tree to getting a portrait of her vulva done to swimming with a whale shark. Thanks to a series of revelations and a slight drowning experience, Judith slowly starts to realise that her life is still full of possibilities and despite death, heartache and a dry vagina it turns out … she’s fine.
Sure, the last remaining member of her immediate family had died, she was menopausal, she suspected her career was in the shitter and it seemed like the world was going to hell in a handbasket – but she was about to move in with the love of her life! Everything would work out because SHE HAD A MAN.
Then, in the space of twenty-four hours, her relationship came apart and so did she. A broken heart became the catalyst for a complete existential melt down. She was nearly fifty, suddenly alone and unsure about every aspect of her life.
How had this happened? Should she blame one of her four parents? What part had the comedy world played and was her disastrous history with men about more than just bad taste?
In her most candid and insightful book yet, Judith figures out what went wrong and then turns her attention to finding out what her life might look like if it went right. She tries everything from dating a tree to getting a portrait of her vulva done to swimming with a whale shark. Thanks to a series of revelations and a slight drowning experience, Judith slowly starts to realise that her life is still full of possibilities and despite death, heartache and a dry vagina it turns out … she’s fine.
272 pages, Trade Paperback
First published April 7, 2021
49 people are currently reading
464 people want to read
About the author
Judith Lucy
8 books55 followersJudith Lucy is one of Australia’s most popular comedians. Her work in radio, television, film and her sell out national tours have made Judith Lucy a household name.
She first hit the scene in 1989 as a stand-up but sprang to national prominence in 1993 as part of the cast of ABC TV’s, The Late Show. She did a tour of duty on Triple J and was a regular on Martin/Molloy. Her live stage shows have been what has set Judith apart. Since her 1996 hit, King of the Road Judith has been a regular fixture on the live scene, selling out big rooms with her sharply observed and honest personal monologues.
Judith has also spent time contributing features and columns for the likes of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Madison Magazine.
She first hit the scene in 1989 as a stand-up but sprang to national prominence in 1993 as part of the cast of ABC TV’s, The Late Show. She did a tour of duty on Triple J and was a regular on Martin/Molloy. Her live stage shows have been what has set Judith apart. Since her 1996 hit, King of the Road Judith has been a regular fixture on the live scene, selling out big rooms with her sharply observed and honest personal monologues.
Judith has also spent time contributing features and columns for the likes of The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Madison Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
April 16, 2021
Stunningly honest and brave, Judith is so much more than a comedian. She writes in her own voice, a voice that goes where only she could. I have read a few of her other books and whilst they were good, this is her best. I listened to this as an audio book and her performance equaled her writing. Cannot recommend highly enough and I am an old, straight, white guy 😁
September 5, 2021
I listened to this memoir on Audiobook after it was recommended by Jessie Tu on her podcast as a hilarious, uplifting read during lockdown. I was excited for it, and wanted to love it.
Unfortunately this book was painful to listen to, especially at the start. It's really hard to connect with a person when they overcompensate with humour (something Lucy herself reflects on). The audiobook was jarring because she does the shout-y comedian thing, so every time she delivers a one-liner, it's loud and over-emphasised; something that works on stage, but not for an audiobook. It was only when she cut out the jokes and spoke vulnerably about some of her experiences that I really connected with the book and could empathise. Unfortunately that didn't happen too often so I simply wasn't invested and didn't care too much for her story.
I do love that Lucy is sex positive and fights against our ageist, patriarchal society. She does make some powerful points about ageism, as well as how women can be successful professionally yet feel worthless when it comes to romantic relationships. I felt that. However, for someone who calls herself feminist, there was **a lot of misogyny** in the book. I was particularly disappointed when Lucy trashed women like Madonna and Sandra Bullock for having cosmetic work done. She even quoted Kaz Cooke about women's ageing - "Women either look old or weird" - thereby making the both of them look like assholes. Hey. It's 2021. Let's not do that. Women can do whatever they want to their faces and bodies as they age - it's not necessary to mock other women or be so judgmental.
I did laugh occasionally but a lot of the jokes fell flat for me. Making light of rape and consent were particularly gross, and happened 3 times in the book. The book was very white and heternormative. Given how much Tu criticised Ewa Ramsey for this last year in *that* review of The Morbids, I'm frankly surprised that she endorsed this book. Anyway, I don't think I was the target demographic for this book. I'm glad Audible lets you return books - this one was a return.
Unfortunately this book was painful to listen to, especially at the start. It's really hard to connect with a person when they overcompensate with humour (something Lucy herself reflects on). The audiobook was jarring because she does the shout-y comedian thing, so every time she delivers a one-liner, it's loud and over-emphasised; something that works on stage, but not for an audiobook. It was only when she cut out the jokes and spoke vulnerably about some of her experiences that I really connected with the book and could empathise. Unfortunately that didn't happen too often so I simply wasn't invested and didn't care too much for her story.
I do love that Lucy is sex positive and fights against our ageist, patriarchal society. She does make some powerful points about ageism, as well as how women can be successful professionally yet feel worthless when it comes to romantic relationships. I felt that. However, for someone who calls herself feminist, there was **a lot of misogyny** in the book. I was particularly disappointed when Lucy trashed women like Madonna and Sandra Bullock for having cosmetic work done. She even quoted Kaz Cooke about women's ageing - "Women either look old or weird" - thereby making the both of them look like assholes. Hey. It's 2021. Let's not do that. Women can do whatever they want to their faces and bodies as they age - it's not necessary to mock other women or be so judgmental.
I did laugh occasionally but a lot of the jokes fell flat for me. Making light of rape and consent were particularly gross, and happened 3 times in the book. The book was very white and heternormative. Given how much Tu criticised Ewa Ramsey for this last year in *that* review of The Morbids, I'm frankly surprised that she endorsed this book. Anyway, I don't think I was the target demographic for this book. I'm glad Audible lets you return books - this one was a return.
April 23, 2021
Judith Lucy doesn’t hold back in documenting her relationships with men, whether it be appalling boyfriends, her father or brother, straight white men who don’t get her brand of humour or gay men who do. She has a lot going on in her head and this book provides a journey through her self-destruction, then acceptance and finding a way forward. It’s not all laugh out loud funny but there is her characteristic humour throughout and she’s a talented writer. It was a very enjoyable read and as a contemporary it was relatable in quite a few ways. I’m glad she’s in a happier place these days.
April 12, 2021
Both entertaining and a salve for the soul. Beats reading a self-help book. Judith Lucy provides a hilarious recount of a shit few years as she hits middle age and what she did to dig herself out of the hole of overwhelming grief and sadness. All told through a feminist lens. Fuck the patriarchy.
July 17, 2021
Here is a woman facing her pain and grief and actually doing the work of coming to terms with the hand she’s been dealt while being funny and smart and interesting. Seeing Lucy being sassy and funny every Saturday night on The Late Show was a formative experience for me. This book was much sadder than I expected it to be. But I’ve finished it inspired to make some changes in my own life (and I can’t say that of most memoir I’ve read). Lucy grapples with some big topics and is able to articulate complex ideas in digestible ways. I’m a bit in awe of this woman who is using her profile to help others in meaningful ways.
September 3, 2021
A bittersweet and searingly honest memoir from one of Australia’s finest entertainers. Stand-up comedy isn’t a genre on my entertainment list, but I’ll happily read all of Judith Lucy’s books after spending time with one.
‘My school environment meant that it never entered my head that a brain and a sense of humour weren’t irresistible traits for any girl to have. What sixteen-year-old boy wouldn’t prefer a girl who loved reading Tennessee Williams and could make you laugh to someone called Samantha with big tits? Only the ones, as I later discovered, who hadn’t come out yet.’
So familiar it hurts.
‘My school environment meant that it never entered my head that a brain and a sense of humour weren’t irresistible traits for any girl to have. What sixteen-year-old boy wouldn’t prefer a girl who loved reading Tennessee Williams and could make you laugh to someone called Samantha with big tits? Only the ones, as I later discovered, who hadn’t come out yet.’
So familiar it hurts.
June 6, 2021
Judith Lucy's memoir is funny, honest and true to herself which made for a really good read and i devoured the book in one sitting.
I've grown up with Judith Lucy and i find her to be one of the funnier aussie comedians and very few that i can actually stand and find funny. She drives humor from her own life and tries to make light of serious situations while also trying not to hide or shy away from talking about the real issues as well. Her writing was done beautifully and her humor just comes easily onto the page and makes for some laugh out moments while also having serious issues intertwined throughout the book.
I knew little about Judith Lucy but this book was a good insight into how her upbringing shaped her and how it lead to her becoming a comedian in her adult life. She also talks about a lot of topics that most people especially in Australia still don't talk about openly as much such as death, sex, menopause, women's sexual health and sex drive i loved the way she talked about these issues in a light hearted way.
I enjoyed the book and as a millenial found it an insight to what to expect when you get into later life.
I've grown up with Judith Lucy and i find her to be one of the funnier aussie comedians and very few that i can actually stand and find funny. She drives humor from her own life and tries to make light of serious situations while also trying not to hide or shy away from talking about the real issues as well. Her writing was done beautifully and her humor just comes easily onto the page and makes for some laugh out moments while also having serious issues intertwined throughout the book.
I knew little about Judith Lucy but this book was a good insight into how her upbringing shaped her and how it lead to her becoming a comedian in her adult life. She also talks about a lot of topics that most people especially in Australia still don't talk about openly as much such as death, sex, menopause, women's sexual health and sex drive i loved the way she talked about these issues in a light hearted way.
I enjoyed the book and as a millenial found it an insight to what to expect when you get into later life.
June 8, 2021
Loved this honest, funny, moving but ultimately uplifting memoir. Judith's narration of the audiobook is excellent, making it feel like an extended sit down chat. Aging, anxiety, sex, relationships, grief, death, climate change and self purpose all explored, with just the right amount of wry laughs sprinkled throughout. I will be pushing this book into people's hands.
November 14, 2021
Sincere, honest and funny. Judith Lucy is a fabulously entertaining and expressive narrator of her own tale.
April 19, 2022
Oh Jude. You know I didn't realise how much this book would resonate with me. Perhaps I fall into a very niche target audience - self deprecating, gen x, childless woman who is perimenopausal. This book is an honest reflection of Judith's family (which we were introduced to in The Lucy Family Alphabet), written years after both her adoptive parents have died, and only a handful after her brother also died. I know the best literary advice is to write like your family are dead, but perhaps writing this book now gives a different level of evaluation and understanding of their behaviours and the impact they've all had on Judith. Never one to shy away from the tales of drinking, drugs and bad choices in men, Jude opens up about falling in love only to be completely heartbroken and single at 50. I had never really worried about ageing...until it started happening! Reading about Jude facing the reality of getting older really resonated. As did the evaluation of your life as you reach milestone numbers like 50. If there's less time ahead than behind, what do you want to do with it?! And just when Jude has explored many topics, from dying to spirituality and climate change...BAM...here's a fucking pandemic to deal with. Life is hard and bloody relentless. But we have to find meaning in ourselves first, then in helping others, community, connectedness and friendship. Jude's dry wit (and vagina) feature heavily in the book. However, it's much more warm, hopeful and joyous than you might expect. It also made me want to go visit WA to swim with whales and whale sharks! This book would appeal to people outside my particular demographic, including anyone struggling to deal with complex family dynamics, grief, love, self loathing and yearning for something more. All I can say Jude, is I GET IT!
May 30, 2021
Very sweet. Judith Lucy makes me excited to get older and care even less than I do now.
August 13, 2021
I really enjoyed The Lucy Family Alphabet but I am a bit ambivalent about this one. There were parts of this book I really liked - Judith’s involvements with nature and her explorations of spirituality and death were interesting and I did feel empowered by her self-love explanations. There were also parts that really annoyed me. I feel like Judith going over her love life and sex life have been done to death and I wasn’t sympathetic. Judith, it is ok to be single and more importantly it is ok to be single in your 50s and dote on a cat!
July 2, 2021
Wow, 4 stars for the honesty and openness. Also great to hear an 'older woman's' voice. I'm the same age and status, and yes, I have felt all those things - finding 'the one' (or not in my case), society expectations of a single woman - how you look, how you behave etc. A lot of 'letting go' is involved, and it's insightful. Made me feel not so alone! And then there was her family.....
May 8, 2021
I expected a laugh and I did snort like a pig but Turns out ,I’m Fine was confronting and beautiful . Judith Lucy is open and blunt , she shares heartbreak and joy .
May 21, 2021
If you can listen to the audio book do it!
July 14, 2021
I really enjoyed this - helped me clarify thoughts I have about living my life. More philosophical than I expected, in a good way.
October 10, 2022
I am a long time JL fan and was looking forward to listening to this as Judith was also delivering it. It’s certainly entertaining in parts - I laughed out loud a number of times.
Some of it felt like topics she’s covered a lot in her standup, so we’re less entertaining for me. But I admired her raw honesty - like being jealous of Hannah Gadsby and especially the self reflection at the end about working with charities and what’s motivating her in life in her 50s. It made me wonder about myself too.
The final chapter about her biological family was beautifully written and I thought very moving. Solid 3.5 stars.
Some of it felt like topics she’s covered a lot in her standup, so we’re less entertaining for me. But I admired her raw honesty - like being jealous of Hannah Gadsby and especially the self reflection at the end about working with charities and what’s motivating her in life in her 50s. It made me wonder about myself too.
The final chapter about her biological family was beautifully written and I thought very moving. Solid 3.5 stars.
Read
July 22, 2021Some great comedic relief during lockdown, with lots of laugh-aloud anecdotes from Judy Lucy's adventures with relationships, family, love and loss.
September 6, 2021
Judith Lucy has certainly never been backwards about coming forward in all aspects of her life, be it the personal or the professional. Her stand up comedy has extensively mined her colorful family history and often disastrous relationships with men, which are re-examined here in the light of the #metoo movement. Lucy doesn't hold back in letting us in on all the sex and drugs of the touring comedian's life. The other side to this is how she tries to make sense recent events in her life, the death of her brother, a devastating break up, turning fifty, menopause and the search for her birth father. Yep, it’s Lucy in full tilt ‘mid life crisis’ mode, telling it to you in your face with a heavy dose of her usual sarcasm. If you are familiar with Lucy’s recent work, be it on stage, on television or in podcasts, it is all thoroughly referenced here, so don't look for anything terribly new (though her musings on the pandemic are hilarious!). It is great fun to join Lucy as she tries a variety of different things, from the outlandish 'c*nt portrait' to the sobering 'death walker' studies. Lucy also has an environmental awakening as she searches for meaning in an increasingly uncertain world. Unsurprisingly, this work is very funny, wildly entertaining and a must read for anyone even vaguely contemplating a midlife re-assessment.
May 1, 2023
Something about comedians' different outlook on life means I always enjoy their autobiographies. This is no different. Can't not read this in Judith's voice!
Only criticism is the constant self-deprecation becomes tedious after a while. Only seems to slow down in the final concluding chapters.
Only criticism is the constant self-deprecation becomes tedious after a while. Only seems to slow down in the final concluding chapters.
April 9, 2021
A gripping life story. Had to have several cups of tea to cope. Laughed as I winced. Made me suddenly release just how brilliant this person is.
October 7, 2021
Loved this book. I listened to it on Audible- so not sure if that added to the enjoyment. I especially enjoyed the second half. There were some real nuggets of wisdom.
December 28, 2022
Flew through this; an absolute joy to hear Lucy tell the tale!
January 11, 2023
I’m a big Judith Lucy fan so was looking forward to this which I listened to via talking book. JL narrated it and I think it would have been so much better if merely narrated, however it was read as if JL was on stage doing a show. I also wasn’t expecting the language in it. So word of warning if you’re listening to the audio book be prepared. (There may have been a language warning on the audio book not sure, I didn’t see it).
April 9, 2024
A frank, dry and out-loud funny in parts memoir from Judith Lucy. A very enjoyable time-passer, at times insightful and others just silly (in a good way).
A lot of crossover with Overwhelmed and Dying, especially towards the end, so some repetition, but certainly and enjoyable conclusion read perfectly by Jude herself.
8/10
A lot of crossover with Overwhelmed and Dying, especially towards the end, so some repetition, but certainly and enjoyable conclusion read perfectly by Jude herself.
8/10
June 19, 2025
“I want to keep searching and learning and letting go until the very end”
May 22, 2021
I listened to this on Audible in order to hear Judith Lucy read it in her inimitable voice and wasn’t disappointed. Laugh out loud and filled with pathos, so much resonated for me that I listened to it in the car, when cooking, and relaxing in bed. It was a bit of joy every day. Thank you for writing this, Ms Lucy!
June 28, 2021
Another cracking read from Judith Lucy. To say Judith Lucy has had a full on life is an understatement! This memoir is honest, funny and deeply personal (isn't she always deeply personal?) and being a single woman racing up to 50 years of age myself, I could identify with a lot of it. Her books are always easy to read and entertaining and this one is no different.
June 18, 2022
Listened to the audio version, in Judith’s own voice, while I did the housework.
Insightful and honest, laugh out loud, so much to agree with about life, death, grief, being single and ultimately living in this vast and complex world.
I especially loved Judith’s thoughts on ageing and acceptance of our limitations, but be grateful for what we can still do.
I’m single and I have the 🐈 cat. 🤣🤣
I’m looking forward to seeing Judith and Denise Scott on 25/6/22.
Insightful and honest, laugh out loud, so much to agree with about life, death, grief, being single and ultimately living in this vast and complex world.
I especially loved Judith’s thoughts on ageing and acceptance of our limitations, but be grateful for what we can still do.
I’m single and I have the 🐈 cat. 🤣🤣
I’m looking forward to seeing Judith and Denise Scott on 25/6/22.
April 18, 2021
Fantastic - a clear sighted, warm and compassionate look at a pivotal point in her life. I think this will resonate with a lot of people, a bit of a revelation, really. Highly recommend to anyone thinking ‘what now?’, especially in the light of the post pandemic future. Whenever that is.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews