Synopses & Reviews
The hilarious and poignant account of how one woman found her comedic voice.
Growing up in the Midwest, the youngest child of Catholic parents, Lizz Winstead learned early that the straightforward questions she posed to various authority figures around her—her parents, her parish priest, even an anti-abortion counselor—prompted many startled looks and uncomfortable silences, but few plausible answers. Her questions rattled adults because they exposed the inconsistencies and hypocrisies in the people and institutions she confronted.
Yet she didn’t let that deter her. In Lizz Free or Die, Winstead vividly recounts how she fought to find her own voice, both as a comedian and as a woman, and how humor became her most powerful weapon in confronting life’s challenges.
Uproarious and surprising, honest and poignant, this no-holds-barred collection of autobiographical essays gives an in-depth look into the life and creativity of one of today’s most influential comic voices. In writing about her naive longing to be a priest, her role in developing The Daily Show, and her often problematic habit of diving into everything headfirst, asking questions later (resulting in multiple rescue-dog adoptions and travel disasters), Lizz Winstead has tapped an outrageous and heartfelt vein of the all-too-human comedy.
Review
"Lizz Winstead is a comic laser beam: smart, funny, and honest."
-Lewis Black
"Lizz Winstead is a brilliant and funny woman and an exquisite tastemaker."
-Roseanne Barr
"Lizz Winstead's perspectives on everything that matters in life are usually challenging, often downright inspiring, and always funny as hell."
-Paul Provenza, Author of Satiristas: Comedians, Contrarians, Raconteurs and Vulgarians
"Lizz Winstead isn't just hilarious (though there is nothing 'just' about being hilarious). She is thoughtful, insightful, caring, brave, whip-smart, and honest, and she also happens to be an absolutely terrific writer."
-Julie Klam, author of the bestselling You Had Me at Woof
Review
"Lizz Winstead is a comic laser beam: smart, funny, and honest." -Lewis Black
Review
"Lizz Winstead is a brilliant and funny woman and an exquisite tastemaker." -Roseanne Barr
Review
"Lizz Winsteads perspectives on everything that matters in life are usually challenging, often downright inspiring, and always funny as hell." -Julie Klam, author of the bestselling You Had Me at Woof
Review
“Sharply witty and iconoclastic.”—
Elle
“Searching and lively … and moving. … Ms. Winstead writes with a feel for the sound of words.” – The New York Times
“Engaging…Winstead proves that she’s got a writer’s touch.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Charming… with insight and understated humor.”—Mother Jones
“A sometimes-hilarious look at a woman who often plunged into life without much forethought but kept on going.”—St. Paul Pioneer Press
“Lizz Winstead is a sharp-witted truth-teller, and Lizz Free or Die will inspire anyone who has ever talked back to the television or wished they could come up with satire as insightful as The Daily Show. It’s also a book about family, friendship and a zest for comedy that transcends political differences. In good times and bad, Winstead found her way by going toward the light and the laughter.”—Ms. Magazine
“Lizz Winstead is down-to-earth and wonderful and nice…read her book. You’ll start to think the same thing.”—Bust Magazine
“[An] indelible, hilarious, often poignant romp.”—American Way
“Political satirist and stand-up comedian Winstead… [is] shrewdly observant, linguistically adept, bravely soul-baring, and caustically smart.”—Booklist
“Funny, thoughtful… recommended.”—Library Journal
“Intelligent and witty…with honesty and humor.”—Publishers Weekly
“With this book, Lizz Winstead takes us on a hilarious, honest, moving and insightful journey. It is the journey of a funny, fearless woman as she finds her voice and shares it with the world.”—Arianna Huffington
“Reading Lizz Winstead's hilarious collection of very personal essays somehow leaves you changed. You laugh, and yet there are nutrients in her words.”—Sarah Silverman
“Lizz Winstead has written a fantastically readable collection. I really did laugh, and then, I really did cry. Most important, though, I found someone I can leave my dogs with, should I have to flee the country.” – Julie Klam
"Lizz Free or Die is brilliantly funny and razor sharp. Lizz Winstead observes our times with candor, hope and a gimlet eye. She is a national treasure."-- Adriana Trigiani
"Reading Winstead is like hanging out with Winstead: invigorating, infuriating, and hilarious." -- Patton Oswald
Synopsis
The bestselling author of The Between Boyfriends Book and an award-winning writer for Sex and the City and Modern Family takes a hilarious, heartbreaking look at marriage
Cindy Chupack has spent much of her adult life writing about dating and relationships for several hit TV series and as a sex columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine. At the age of thirty-nine, she finally found The Oneand a wealth of new material.
Marriage, Cindy discovered, was more of an adventure than she ever imagined, and in this collection of essays she deftly examines the comedy and cringe-worthy aspects of matrimony. Soulful yet self-deprecating, The Longest Date recounts her first marriage (he was gay) and the meeting of Husband No. 2, Ian.
After the courtship and ceremony, both Cindy and Ian realized that happily ever after takes some practice, and near constant negotiation over everyday matters like cooking, sex, holidays, monogamy, and houseguests. The Longest Date takes a serious turn when it comes to infertility.
The Longest Date is the perfect companion for anyone navigating a serious relationship, be it newlyweds or couples moving in that direction.
About the Author
Cindy Chupack has won three Golden Globes and an Emmy for her work as a writer/executive producer of HBO���s Sex and the City. She also wrote for Everybody Loves Raymond, Coach, and a bunch of series only her parents would watch. She has written about dating and relationships for many magazines and had her own column in Glamour and O, The Oprah Magazine. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, her St. Bernard, and . . . you���ll just have to read the book.