Misfit
Growing Up Awkward in the '80s
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Narrated by:
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Gary Gulman
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Written by:
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Gary Gulman
About this listen
This program is read by the author.
“One of my favorite books of all time.” ―Amy Schumer
A tour de force of comedy and reflection about the perilous journey from kindergarten to twelfth grade and beyond―from the beloved stand-up comic and creator of The Great Depresh
For years, Gary Gulman had been the comedian’s comedian, acclaimed for his delight in language and his bracing honesty. But after two stints in a psych ward, he found himself back in his mother’s house in Boston—living in his childhood bedroom at age forty-six, as he struggled to regain his mental health.
That’s where Misfit begins. Then it goes way back.
This is no ordinary book about growing older and growing up. Gulman has an astonishing memory and takes the listener through every year of his childhood education, with obsessively detailed stories that are in turn alarming and riotously funny. We meet Gulman’s family, neighbors, teachers, heroes, and antagonists, and get to know the young comedian-in-the-making who is his own worst―and most persistent―enemy.
From failing to impress at grade school show-and-tell to literally fumbling at his first big football game, in settings that take us all the way from the local playground to the local mall, from Hebrew School to his best (and only) friend’s rec room, young Gary becomes a stand-in for everyone who grew up wondering if they would ever truly fit in. And that’s not all: The audiobook is also chock-full of ‘80s nostalgia (scented markers, indifference to sunscreen, mall culture).
Misfit is an audiobook that only Gary Gulman could have written: a brilliant, witty, poignant, laugh-until-your-face-hurts memoir that speaks directly to the awkward child in us all.
A Macmillan Audio production from Flatiron Books.
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What the critics say
"In this book, Gary Gulman retells a story that’s one of my favorites we’ve put on This American Life—about how a soft, football-hating kid like him ended up playing the sport—and tells lots of other stories too. One thing I especially love in here is his astonishing recall of the jokes he and others told through his childhood; he really was a little boy destined to become a comic." ―Ira Glass, host of This American Life
"Having also grown up in the 80’s, Misfit is the book I definitely would have written if I was a brilliant, depressed, honest, deranged, master wordsmith/storyteller like Gary Gulman."―Judd Apatow
“This is a very special book―an exquisite, love-affirming, generous book. It is also a portrait of an extraordinary American artist as a boy, using the tools of his trade to become a peace-loving, honest man. That the American art he practices is standup comedy gives us a rare glimpse into the ideals of democracy, because Misfit invites us to see how originality survives hierarchy. I found it galvanizing.”―Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, New York Times bestselling author of Random Family
What listeners say about Misfit
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2023-10-26
Nostalgic
Very nice book, I love his stand up comedy, but no I am an even bigger fan of Gary Gulman.
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- seif
- 2023-09-24
Superb across the board
I really don't have much to say it was just fantastic, hilarious and emotional. Fans of his stand up will not be disappointed.
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- Bryan G Birch
- 2024-08-24
Good vibes
Fun, (relatively) light hearted and earnest. An enjoyable story with ups and downs that can be told through a humorous lens now that time has passed
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- Mr Consumer
- 2024-04-12
“If this isn’t nice I don’t know what is”
Thanks for sharing your story and never surrendering to the struggle. And the laughs, of course. Those are important. ❤️🤪❤️
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