I See You Made an Effort

Actress and humorist Annabelle Gurwitch returns with I See You Made an Effort, a book of essays so wickedly funny it may make you forget your last birthday. Not one to shy away from the grisly realities of middle age, the 'slyly subversive' (O, The Oprah Magazine) Gurwitch confronts the various indignities faced by femmes d'un certain age with candor, wit, and a healthy dose of hilarious self-deprecation. Whether falling in lust at the Genius bar,...
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Actress and humorist Annabelle Gurwitch returns with I See You Made an Effort, a book of essays so wickedly funny it may make you forget your last birthday. Not one to shy away from the grisly realities of middle age, the 'slyly subversive' (O, The Oprah Magazine) Gurwitch confronts the various indignities faced by femmes d'un certain age with candor, wit, and a healthy dose of hilarious self-deprecation.

Whether falling in lust at the Genius bar, navigating the extensive - and treacherously expensive - anti aging offerings at a department-store beauty counter, coping with the assisted suicide of her best friend, negotiating the ins and outs of acceptable behavior with her teenage kid, or the thudding financial reality of the 'never-tirement' generation that leads her to petty theft, Gurwitch's essays prove her a remarkably astute writer in her prime (in so many ways). Is this the beginning of the Eileen Fisher years? Where does one conduct an affair with a younger man? Is fifty the new forty? Or is fifty still just . . . fifty?

Scorchingly, surreally honest and riotously triumphant, I See You Made an Effortis the ultimate coming-of-middle-age story and a must-read for women of all ages. Reading glasses not included.

Praise for I See You Made An Effort

'Annabelle Gurwitch is the child prodigy of the literature of aging. At the youthful age of fifty, when most of us are stealthily burning our AARP magazines so the neighbors don't find them in the recycling, she has figured out how to make the humiliations of aging hilarious. The only downside of this book is that it is bound to deepen your laugh lines.' Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed

'The stories in Annabelle Gurwitch's book are unexpected and imaginative, and her observations just plain cracked me up. It's so great it should be required reading for everyone between the ages of forty and death. Scratch that - even after death it's a must-read.' Bill Maher

'Hooray for Annabelle Gurwitch, whose funny and clear-eyed book proves that the best way to face aging is with copious amounts of laughter. Peals not peels!' Henry Alford, author of Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?

'I See You Made an Effortis so funny, humble, and nutty that you'll wish Annabelle Gurwitch lived next door. I laughed and commiserated with all the indignities of getting a wee bit older in a youth-obsessed world. After reading this book, you won't feel alone in your secret thoughts anymore. And you'll laugh really hard - the frosting on the cake!' Julia Sweeney, author of If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother

'Comedy! Tragedy! Laughter! Tears! To be clear - more laughter than tears! Be warned- I See You Made an Effortis a book about the worst thing a person can do in America- get older. Even worse- Annabelle is getting older in Hollywood of all places. A tragedy and a crime. But relax, the ego-wrenching tales in this book are funny because they happened to her, not you - yet.' Bob Odenkirk

'Smart, hilarious, and deeply moving, I See You Made an Effortcaptures the highs (few) and lows (more than a few) of not just turning fifty, but turning fifty in our time. Annabelle Gurwitch lays bare the harsh reality of hitting the half-century mark in a way that keeps you simultaneously laughing and turning pages.' Cathi Hanauer, author of Goneand editor of The Bitch in the House

'I so relate to this brilliant and wildly hilarious latest work by Annabelle Gurwitch that, sadly, I think there is a middle-aged woman's body trying to break out of my own.' Richard Lewis