April 22, 2019
Amusingly offbeat and told with the biting sarcasm expected of the TV personality, Handler’s sixth book (after Uganda Be Kidding Me) packs a surprising amount of emotion and introspection. After a somewhat shaky start that amounts to an extensive admission of her attraction to special counsel Robert Mueller, Handler quickly dives into the meat of the memoir with a detailed and passionately wrought account of her therapy sessions with neuropsychiatrist Dan Siegel. Through dialogue, Handler shares her struggles to complete menial tasks, her contentious relationship with her father, her inability to empathize (“I never stop showing up , but I don’t put myself in their shoes”), and the profound impact her brother’s accidental death had on her when she was young. The long stretches of self-reflection become dense at times, but are punctuated by lighter excursions in which Handler talks about her dogs (“I am someone who knows that loving a dog makes you a kinder and fuller person”). These insights provide much needed moments of lightness in an otherwise sobering narrative of how Handler came to peace with her complicated relationship with vulnerability. Fans of the comedian will appreciate her candid and sincere introspection.