The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad
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With laugh-out-loud funny parenting observations, the New York Times bestselling author and award-winning comedian delivers a book that is perfect for anyone who has ever raised a child, been a child, or refuses to stop acting like one. In 2016 comedian Mike Birbiglia and poet Jennifer Hope Stein took their fourteen-month-old daughter Oona to the Nantucket Film Festival. When the festival director picked them up at the airport she asked Mike if he would perform at the storytelling night. She said, "The theme of the stories is jealousy." Jen quipped, "You're jealous of Oona. You should talk about that." And so Mike began sharing some of his darkest and funniest thoughts about the decision to have a child. Jen and Mike revealed to each other their sides of what had gone down during Jen's pregnancy and that first year with their child. Over the next couple years, these stories evolved into a Broadway show, and the more Mike performed it the more he heard how it resonated—not just with parents but also people who resist all kinds of change. So he pored over his journals, dug deeper, and created this book: The New One: Painfully True Stories From a Reluctant Dad. Along with hilarious and poignant stories he has never shared before, these pages are sprinkled with poetry Jen wrote as she navigated the same rocky shores of new parenthood. So here it is. This book is an experiment—sort of like a family.
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I'm a big fan of Mike Birbiglia saw The New One as a show on Broadway, and I almost DNFed this book after the first few chapters bc I was like, this is almost word for word exactly what I remember seeing on stage. (Which was the same experience I had with [b:Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories 7775841 Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories Mike Birbiglia https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442947661l/7775841.SY75.jpg 10682678], and I was like, why do I keep reading these comedian memoirs when they're all exactly the same as their standup, except worse because they don't have the delivery of standup!) Also it includes his wife's poems, and I appreciated her POV but I didn't like...love the poems TBH??? Sorry poemsBut I kept pushing through and there is some new material in here, including reactions to the response the show version of this got, which I thought was interesting. But like overall...the stage show The New One was filmed for Netflix, really if you're interested you should just watch it instead of reading it.Also, he's very up front about being a “reluctant dad”–it's like, in the subtitle–and I've heard some other people who find his attitude very repellent. Personally I find it relatable and I appreciate his honestly, but like, if you are maybe a person who really wants kids but doesn't have them, you'll probably wanna punch him in the face. Be advised.
