I am going to come right out and say it. I'm a fan. I LOVED Trainwreck and her Comedy Central show Inside Amy Schumer. I know her humor isn't for everyone. I happen to love it. That being said, I do admire her, even if she is a bit too blunt at times. I do think women (in general) can learn a lot from her- she loves herself. Just. As. She. Is. And THAT is the big take away from this book. I bought the book from Target when it was on sale, but then realized she narrated the audio book. So I got the audio book from the library and this entertained me on my commute for the last 1 and 1/2 weeks.

A special thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well colour me surprised! I actually enjoyed The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo way more than I thought I would. There were things that made me laugh, and things that moved me too. I could have done without the lists, and most certainly done with out the chapter on her stuffed animals, but other than that, I felt she was incredibly honest, and real.

She shares with readers some truly painful experiences. The way she lost her virginity was sad, horrific, and painful. Schumer was also in an abusive relationship that resulted in a few terrifying ordeals that left me feeling incredibly sad for her, but optimistic in that maybe by sharing her story, she gave someone else the courage to leave an abusive relationship. My heart went out to her when she spoke of her father's MS, but she did take things a bit too far (poop story) and this was not necessary. I could empathize when she wrote about her mother, and their volatile relationship—she has had to establish some pretty tough and firm boundaries. Many mothers and daughters walk a fine line, and I really struggle to understand why women are so cruel to other women, oftentimes this starts out with criticisms from one's mother.

I love that she is unabashedly a feminist. She is also kind, smart, and doesn't make apologies for any of her failures or shortcomings. She works hard, and is of course funny.

“I know my worth. I embrace my power. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story. I will. I’ll speak and share and fuck and love, and I will never apologize for it. I am amazing for you, not because of you. I am not who I sleep with. I am not my weight. I am not my mother. I am myself. And I am all of you."

 

 

I wasn't very familiar with Amy Schumer's work in comedy, but I couldn't resist the title.  Now I know--she's funny, frank, and has a big heart.  She made me laugh out loud.  (Hazard of listening to funny audiobooks.)

Full review on my book blog.

I won a copy of this in a goodreads giveaway.

I blew through most of this in almost one sitting. I laughed out loud a few times, I cringed many times, I wanted to hug her several times, I teared up at least twice, and I wish I could thank her. I had many other reactions while reading this book, but those are the highlights.

Some funny people don't always write as funny as they are in person, but I think her humor translated well to the page. It was funny when it was supposed to be, but she also wasn't afraid to talk about serious issues (both in her own personal life, and beyond).

While I didn't love every minute of reading this, I did enjoy it overall.

If you have issues reading about sex, bodily functions, "strong language," mentions of alcohol and other substances, domestic abuse, women talking about what it's like to be a woman, etc., you should probably not read this book.

I do not read a lot of biography or autobiography books, however, Amy Schumer has been and up and coming comic/actress for awhile now and I personally find her hilarious so I thought I would give her book a read. If you are looking for the top ten Amy Schumer jokes, move along, this is not what this book is about. If you are looking for just one joke or funny story after the other, this is not the book for you, move along. If you are looking for all of those things go see her live (this based upon what I have heard and a bit from her book. When she was in my town I could not afford tickets to her show...but next time look out), as this is what her shows are about.

What this book is a more in depth look into Schumer, her beginning, her life, how she became a comic and the things that she has triumphed and struggled with along the way. It is by no means a full inclusive story but just a glimpse in to who she is, people have a right to keep some things to themselves even celebrities, but Amy does shine a light on several topics throughout her life. I never would have known that she was an introvert and all the anxieties that come with that especially when it is your job to perform live and in front of thousands of people as well as mingle with people at events when all you really want to do is sit in the corner (I share that trait with her on some level, though I would like a book in the corner with me, lol).

I appreciated some of the life lessons that Schumer discusses in her book, from her Dad's illness, to being in an abusive relationship to being raped. The latter two listed are violent or as explosive physically as those words bring images to mind, but they do happen in this way and people need to know that in whatever form they take it is not okay in any relationship.  Many of those topics are common in autobiography, biography or memoir; I found that Schumer discussed these topics not only with class but with some humor in a way that did not minimize the experiences that she had gone through (something that is very tough to do). Is Schumer crass at at different point in the book, I think you'd be surprised if I said No. Of course she is Crass and proud of it, this is what people would expect from her book, but I think more importantly Schumer passes  shows that Yes she is human, Yes she has and does make mistakes, Yes she is happy with what she looks like and F you for thinking she needs to lose weight and Yes she probably does not want to talk to you all that much at a party. These things all make her human; we are all flawed, we all hate ourselves at some point in our lives but eventually we accept who we are and what we look like and I think this is one of the most important messages that Schumer has in her book..

There were some things in the book that felt like she was just trying either a little too hard or just trying to make the book longer, especially the lists. I did not really find that there was any interesting information in them that Schumer does not talk about in the book.

This is the first book that I have read by a comedian and I know it will not be my last, there are a few out there now that I would like to pick up. Even though I have not read a lot in the genre I still really recommend this book, it was really enjoyable and I enjoyed the little peek that Schumer let us have in to her world.

Enjoy!!!

Side Note:
While reading this I had no idea how many female comedians these days were writing this type of book. Maybe I was in my own little world here but I really had no idea that this was now the "IT" thing to do. If you have any you have read and recommend please let me know.