Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee
Sarah Silverman is not someone I would generally consider to be a serious writer. I am a fan of her comedy. I enjoy any comedy that is crude, blunt and honest, and she’s pretty much the epitome of that. I decided to pick up her self narrated audio book expecting to get a light listen full of jokes about things like penises and poop.
Those jokes were there, of course, that is what she’s known for, but they aren’t the heart of the book, they were just her making jokes to break up the tension of the things she was really talking about, which as she explained was something she had been doing her entire life. It was a defense mechanism to cope with all of the things she was dealing with. The fear, anxiety, and depression that haunted her most of her life.
That is something I can seriously relate to.
Perspective on Art and Life
I hadn’t realized it before I heard it pretty much spelled out in this book, but comedy is the art of the tragic. It gave me a little bit of insight into myself, and the things that have always been a part of me, the things that have filled me pretty heavily with shame most of my life. I realized while listening to Sarah read from her own memoires that these are issues that a lot of people deal with and experience. Sometimes those things still catch me, when my guard is down and I’m at a moment of weakness.
I can’t say that it was a life changing experience, listening to this book, but it was a piece of a bigger puzzle that’s forming for me. I’d say it was serendipity that I read it right before I began tackling my own book. It gave me a new look at myself by showing me someone that has very similar flaws to my own and how she over came them, and is still overcoming them.
It was inspiring, and I’m better for it. I suggest everyone picks it up. You might not appreciate Sarah Silverman’s sense of humor, but I’m betting you can appreciate the story of a little girl, filled to the breaking point with shame over her bladder, her culture and her body breaking through all of that to find a place in the world where she belonged and was happy.
Or maybe you just like a good dick joke.
You can pick it up as a hardback on Amazon, but I really think it’s worth a listen on as an audio book from Audible.