I Know What I'm Doing -- and Other Lies I Tell Myself: Dispatches from a Life Under Construction
Written by Jen Kirkman
Narrated by Jen Kirkman
4/5
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About this audiobook
Jen Kirkman wants to be the voice in your head that says, Hey, you’re okay. Even if you sometimes think you aren’t! And especially if other people try to tell you you’re not.
In I Know What I’m Doing—and Other Lies I Tell Myself, Jen offers up all the gory details of a life permanently in progress. She reassures you that it’s okay to not have life completely figured out, even when you reach middle age (and find your first gray pubic hair!). She talks about making unusual or unpopular life decisions (such as cultivating a “friend with benefits” or not going home for the holidays) because you don’t necessarily want for yourself what everyone else seems to think you should. It’s about renting when everyone says you should own, dating around when everyone thinks you should settle down, and traveling alone when everyone pities you for going to Paris without a man.
From marriage to divorce and sex to mental health, I Know What I’m Doing—and Other Lies I Tell Myself is about embracing the fact that life is a bit of a sh*t show and it’s definitely more than okay to stay true to yourself.
Jen Kirkman
Jen Kirkman is a world-touring stand-up comedian and the author of the New York Times bestseller I Can Barely Take Care of Myself: Tales of a Happy Life Without Kids and I Know What I’m Doing—And Other Lies I Tell Myself: Dispatches from a Life Under Construction. Her Netflix original comedy special I'm Gonna Die Alone and I Feel Fine streams worldwide, and she has released two comedy albums, Self Help and Hail to the Freaks (which hit #13 on the Billboard charts). She was a longtime writer and panelist on the E! Network’s Chelsea Lately and the narrator of many episodes in the award-winning TV show Drunk History on Comedy Central.
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Reviews for I Know What I'm Doing -- and Other Lies I Tell Myself
53 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Such a fun way to talk about lots of adult and timeless themes.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed Kirkman's book. I've been a fan of her standup comedy for a while and the book is more serious than her standup but still has a lot of laughs and smiles of recognition. I'm not single but I relate to her anyway. I thought her stories and her take on life is great. I did the book on audio and I loved listening to her tell her own stories. For memoir it almost always has to be audio for me; nothing beats listening to the person and she is a great narrator of her own life. I want to go back and listen to her first book too.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is comedian and writer Jen Kirkman’s second book, and it’s quite nice. It’s not a comedy book, but a collection of essays and stories about her life. She’s divorced, she’s childfree, and she has an unconventional job. Hopefully it goes without saying, but you don’t need to be any of those things to find her writing relatable and charming.
If you listen to her podcast “I Seem Fun,” you’ll find that some of the stories are familiar. But definitely not all, or even most. There is plenty here for those who are new to her work and those who have been following her for years. My favorite moments in the book are when she says things that I wish I could say but haven’t yet reached the point where I can. She’s not defensive to or offended by certain comments; she just wants folks to know that they are wrong in their comments about her and her life choices. It’s awesome and freeing.
If you haven’t read her first book, I recommend starting there. Then read this. Then start following her on Instagram and twitter (if you like to see her be brutally honest with condescending anti-feminists), and listen to her podcast. And if you’re really lucky (like I am), you can even catch her on her book tour.