A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body: (Tales from a Life of Cringe) (Paperback)

by Lauren Weedman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Like Larry David, the late Spaulding Gray, and Seattle's own Matt Smith, Weedman emotionally exposes herself onstage ... This book extends that vulnerability to print. When Weedman writes about her own childhood, the results can be devastatingly funny and poignant. -- Seattle Times, October 4, 2007

Sincerely funny stuff from a welcome new original voice on the humor-literature scene.

Best known for her stint as a correspondent on The Daily Show, Weedman is a prolific multimedia performer/comedienne: NPR commentator, playwright, performance artist, regular on Comedy Central's Reno 911! In her debut collection of autobiographical essays, the author proves to be an undeniable charmer and self-deprecator extraordinaire, seemingly proud to depict herself as a goofball and unashamed to walk us though one awkward incident after another. Her attempts to make Daily Show host Jon Stewart her "new boyfriend"--joking with him about African-American male genitalia, faux-seductively pinching her own nipples for his pleasure--are, fortunately for Weedman's then-husband Michael, met with fright and/or confusion. And then there's her trip to the Emmy Awards with her Daily Show pals, the highlight of which was a self-administered enema. Weedman's essays work for the same reason David Sedaris' do: She has heart. Though told with a tinge of comedic self-flagellation, the story of her marriage's end game is filled with sincere pathos, as is the tale of her first post-divorce fling with a warm, turkey jerky-bearing gentleman named David. And though the topic of awkward adolescences is overused, Weedman's depiction of her pot-soaked Indiana high-school years is effective in part because of its brevity. The author made an interesting choice by structuring the book in reverse chronological order, but that turned out to be a canny move--she grabs readers immediately with the stories of her celebrity encounters.

If Sedaris were a heterosexual woman, he might well be Weedman. -- Kirkus Reviews, September 2007

Weedman has an avid following for her gutsy plays and one-woman performances, but her bedrock to fame is her brief stint on The Daily Show. And if her confessions of painful gaffes with host Jon Stewart contain even a molecule of truth, it's a wonder she lasted as long as she did. Weedman is of the hyperactively self-loathing school of comedy, in which women obsess about their bodies and offer audacious details. Need we say more than coffee enema? Weird bad sex? But Weedman isn't going for the merely gauche in her first collection of humorous autobiographical essays. For one thing, she is too fine a writer; for another she has smart things to say about our failures to communicate at home and in the world. In tales about the breakdown of her marriage, her struggle to understand what it means to be adopted, her relationship with a widower and his teenage son, her follies abroad, and a hilarious misadventure in a thrift-store dress at the Emmies, Weedman uses raunchiness as a covert route to the heart. -- Booklist, September 15, 2007

Product Description
Lauren Weedman's hilarious essays read like a compendium of what not to do as a fully-realized, functional adult. Her self-deprecating, confessional, and terribly funny voice finds a special place in the hearts of those who can relate to her - which, for better or worse, includes all of us. From the uproarious account of her time at the Daily Show, where she developed an entirely one-sided infatuation with Jon Stewart, to the time she read her boyfriend's diary with disastrous results, Lauren's work is filled with the wit, honesty, and personality that make for great personal writing.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (September 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570615012
• ISBN-13: 978-1570615016
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #506,671 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just Damn Funny, October 4, 2007

By	Michael A. Stusser (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body: (Tales from a Life of Cringe)


Lauren Weedman is hard to categorize - and that's a good thing; part Lucille Ball, part Janine Garofalo, part Spalding Gray, part Lenny Bruce, she is hilarious, honest, pushes the envelope, and can sing and dance if she wants to. Though "A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body" is her first book, the same flat-out comedy that she exhibits on stage comes through here in a winning way. Always leading with her self-deprecating ego (that may sound like an oxymoron, but, in her case, it's a high-low manic way of life), Weedman's stories connect with the reader through the commonality of her situations - relationships, job interviews, family dynamics, travel mishaps - and then she adds the comedic twists and one-liners of a seasoned pro. When life hands Lauren lemons, she makes lemonade margaritas and starts journaling like a mad-woman.

Sitting down with this book is probably a lot like hanging with Ms. Weedman in person. And ya better be ready for pretty much anything. Great stuff.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A holiday gift for everyone on my list!, October 16, 2007

By	Diane West (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Once I started reading this book, I carried it with me everywhere there might be a chance to get another few pages read. It went with me to the obvious places...bathroom, dentist, driving to work and to church. I stayed up late finishing the last story. I loved the humor, laugh out loud type humor. But it isn't just the comic genius of this woman, this is an extremely well-written book. I loved it. Is there more to come?

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny? Oh yeah. But so much more., September 18, 2007

By	KAS (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Is Lauren Weedman the funniest woman in America? Well, there's some pretty tough competition out there, but this book is a convincing argument that she deserves the title. This Renaissance Woman has already proven herself as an award-winning playwright/performer, television actor and reporter (The Daily Show!), and comedian, and now she can add "world-class writer" to that list.

But this book is not a regurgitation of a theatrical performance or a stand-up comedy act--it's 12 distinct stories that stand up as literature because they go beyond the laugh-out-loud-funny comedy of embarrassment that Lauren is a master of. There's a serious core to this book as Weedman searches for home, family, personal insight and, yes, even growth amidst her manic and cringe-inducing adventures in Indiana, Amsterdam, on the staff of the Daily Show, and on the road to Baja with her new boyfriend.

For newcomers to Weedman's writing, the closest comparisons I can make are Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris. Anybody who enjoys the work of either writer will feel very at home here. But Lauren's funnier and less claustrophobic than Burroughs and cuts to the core more than the somewhat guarded Sedaris. And male readers, don't be afraid of the title or the pink type on the cover. It's not a "for women only" book at all. Lauren's humor is universal--in fact, if anything, she worries she's not feminine enough.

A Woman Trapped in a Woman's Body is an astonishing debut by a woman you'll be hearing a lot more about.