Description

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New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary offers a literary feast of humor and wisdom told from the perspective of a recovering people pleaser.

Having arrived at a certain age (her prime), Ann Leary casts a wry backward glance at a life spent trying—and often failing—to be nice. With wit and surprising candor, Leary recounts the bedlam of home bat invasions, an obsession with online personality tests, and the mortification of taking ballroom dance lessons with her actor husband. She describes hilarious red-carpet fiascos and other observations from the sidelines of fame, while also touching upon her more poignant struggles with alcoholism, her love for her family, her dogs, and so much more.

Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe and revel in the comically relatable chaos of Ann Leary’s life as revealed in this delightful collection of essays.

About the Author

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Ann Leary is the New York Times bestselling author of a memoir and four novels including The Good House. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages, and she has written for The New York Times, Ploughshares, NPR, Redbook, and Real Simple, among other publications. Her essay, “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive,” was adapted for Prime Video’s television series, Modern Love. Her novel The Good House was adapted as a motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline. She lives with her husband in New York. Visit her online at AnnLeary.com.

Praise For…

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“[A] winning essay collection…The humor lands and the lithe prose elevates Leary’s musings on life’s mundanities. This is a gem.” —Publisher's Weekly (starred)

“[Leary’s] candid essays invite readers to laugh and cry along with her… She fluidly guides us through her thought processes, while finding humor and displaying a refreshing vulnerability. A humorous and honest tale of a woman and her struggle as a people-pleaser.” —Kirkus

"Ann Leary is a damn delight. Reading this book was like curling up on the couch with an honest, hilarious, sane friend. Not too sane, though - just the perfect amount. Leary’s stories made me feel absolutely desperate to get out of my forties and into my fifties. I tried being nice, too, Ann. Thanks for being honest instead. Read this book!"

—Glennon Doyle, author of #1 New York Times Bestseller Untamed, Founder of Together Rising