Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. [Paperback]

David Nadelberg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 28, 2006

Share the shame.

In the days before blogs, teenagers recorded their lives with a pen in top-secret notebooks, usually emblazoned with an earnest, underlined plea to parents to keep away. Since 2002, David Nadelberg has tapped that vast wellspring of adolescent anguish in the stage show Mortified, in which grown men and women confront their past with firsthand tales of their first kiss, first puff, worst prom, fights with mom, life at bible camp, worst hand job, best mall job, and reasons they deserved to marry Simon LeBon.

Following the same formula that has made the live show a beloved cult hit, Mortified the book takes real childhood journals and documents and edits the entries into captivating, comedic, and cathartic stories, introduced by their now older (and allegedly wiser) authors. From letters begging rescue from a hellish summer camp to catty locker notes about stuck-up classmates to obsessive love that borders on stalking, Mortified gives voice to the real -- and really pathetic -- hopes, fears, desires, and creative urgings that have united adolescents for generations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. If the only way to heal painful high school memories is to laugh at someone else's painful high school memories, this book can accurately be labeled the antidote. Based on Nadelberg's stage show of the same name, this is a raw, hilarious compendium of real childhood and high school journals, essays and letters, with rueful commentary from their now-adult writers-each of whom deserve applause for their bravery and generosity. Entries enumerate the dumb-founding horror of sexual awakening ("I like him. But I don't know if I like him. But I don't hate him. I don't wanna like him!"), the frustration of feeling different ("I hate Black History Month. It's the one month out of the year when white people feel comfortable to ask me all sorts of strange, inappropriate questions") and the bizarre dreams of adolescence (such as one contributor's Duran Duran fan fiction, which must be read to be believed). Unafraid to delve into sex and drugs, Nadelberg even includes some charming amateur erotica written by a clueless twelve-year-old. Illustrated with great awkward-phase photos, this treasure-chest of confusion and angst will make readers squirm and smile with the realization that, as Nadelberg puts it, "we were all that same strange kid."
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About the Author

Mortified is the creation of David Nadelberg--a writer/producer/angstologist living in Los Angeles, the official town of public humiliation. Since 2002, he has sifted through hundreds of journals belonging to strangers and edited them into comedic pieces. He has written and produced numerous TV pilots for places UPN, VH1 and Comedy Central that were so amazing, they never even aired.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Gallery Books; Original edition (November 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416928073
• ISBN-13: 978-1416928072
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born. Then I got older.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Is Funny Delicious!, December 15, 2006

By 

Stefanie Taylor "Author of 'Sippy Cups Are No... (Encino, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. (Paperback)

I personally kept a journal (fine, diary) all through grade school, junior high (the most horrid two-years of my life) and high school. I can't help but cringe when I read back on my childish angst, anger and insecurity. But when I read Mortified I realized I was not alone. Not alone in ending my entries with a "bye bye" as if the diary were an actual friend (like I had any)and not alone in obsessing shamelessly over boys who barely knew of my existance and never did become aware.

The selections made from the various journals are all genius, but I especially loved David Nadelberg's "Unsent Love Letter" which starts off with "Hello Leslie! How is your day today? Mine's quite well, I must admit." So dorky and so sweet and it actually gets intentionally funny for a high school sophmore. I'm just saying, it would've worked on me!

All the entries are good but my favorite part was being able to flip to the back of the book to the What The Hell Happened section and see, well, what the hell happened.

So, if you have any voyeuristic tendencies what-so-ever, or you just like a good My Sharona reference, pick up this book.

Bye bye.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Other People's Misery, January 15, 2007

By 

Dell Fields - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. (Paperback)

It's gratifying to read about other people's dreadful teenage years. Weren't my own bad enough? Apparantly not. And here's the proof. You might take comfort in these chapters, perhaps re-examine the way you treated your more "fragile" peers. It's important to note that this is not an 80s family movie sanitized version of what kids go through. This is the ugly, pimply, dorky, greasy version... and for that it is to be highly recommended.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT! Great idea and great book!, January 15, 2007

By 

A. Savage - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mortified: Real Words. Real People. Real Pathetic. (Paperback)

I loved it so much I bought it for my sister for Christmas. I've even been to the show! I disagree with those that say it's not as interesting as the show is as I've experienced both. These are all the people we all went to school with! These people are us! It's fun to read it and equate it to my high school life and friends. Even though there's a name attached I still think "I knew that person in high school!" It's comforting to know that you're not the only one who went through all that "drama".

Oh! I'm just jealous I didn't think of it first!!