Book Genre: Autobiography, Biography, Essays, Health, Humor, Memoir, Mental Health, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Psychology, Self Help, Writing It’s also good to remember to live in an attitude of gratitude for what you do have instead of always wanting what you don’t have. At Comedy Central, where I have worked for the past ten years, we have an intern lunch during which our group of hardworking, sweet, so-­clueless-­I-­have-­become-­embarrassed-­that-­I-­was-­ever-that-­young interns can ask us executives for advice. The questions are usually the same.

A lot of the book comes off a bit elitist, to be honest. When someone says they went to a really nice private school, followed by Brown University, and then flippantly states how "poor" they were, it irks me to no end. There are moments when the author realizes her privilege, but most of the time, I think the things she has to say come off as incredibly tone deaf. I have to wonder what my life would have been like if I’d had a friend (or imaginary friend) like Tara Schusterwhen I was in my twenties.Her candor and sincerity are unimpeachable. The lessons she’s extrapolated from her unsentimental education arecompelling, persuasive, and useful no matter where you are in your life. Good work, Tara!” —Chelsea Handler, #1 New York Timesbestselling author of Life Will Be the Death of Me Compelling, persuasive, and useful no matter where you are in your life." (Chelsea Handler, number one New York Times best-selling author of Life Will Be the Death of Me ) And not to be callous, but if you've experienced this much trauma and also worked for a comedy network for a decade plus, shouldn't you be, I don't know, funny? Passably funny? Clever? I don't know how you could live for a year in a house with gynecological equipment rotting in your front yard and not turn that into a hilarious anecdote? Taking care of yourself through eating well, not muting our lives with drugs including alcohol, getting enough sleep, and nurturing relationships, makes for a much happier life.

Success!

I began to realize that I did indeed have a lot to be grateful for. That didn't mean I didn't also have trauma in my life. It certainly didn't mean that I had worked out all of my issues from childhood and now everything was “perf, thanks, byeee .” The trauma and the gratitude were able to live in the same space, together. Little by little, I pulled the golden thread of gratitude out from the blanket of pain I usually wrapped myself in.

Brutally honest, often hilarious, hard-won lessons in learning to love and care for yourself from a former vice president at Comedy Central who was called“ahead of her time”by Jordan Peele You’re going to want Tara Schuster to become your new best friend.” (Glennon Doyle, number one New York Times best-selling author of Untamed ) A bracingly honest, funny read...like Wild meets You Are a Badass." (Adam Grant, number one New York Times best-selling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B)With my show canceled, I began keeping my own journal. It was full of the musings of a child prodigy:“Jamie Belsky-­Briley is 11 out of 10 HOT”; “I would marry Luke Perry, eff Jason Priestley, and kill Ian Ziering (duh)”; “I’m scared to leave my room because my parents are screaming and I don’t want to see them but I ALSO really want to GET OUT OF MY ROOM because mom said the world is full of rapists and murderers who want to kidnap me and I think one is plotting to break in through my bedroom window! How do I escape?” My journal was a safe place where I could be vulnerable and write about how my world felt: violent, tumultuous, confusing, and dangerous. After my twenty-­fifth birthday, on my floral duvet, I decided to start where I was. I knew that when it came to healing my own mind, I would have to apply the same persistence, care, and attention I brought to that coffee machine. I would have to show up, figure out what was wrong with the water tank, and work like hell to fix it. I would have to be vigilant and patient, knowing that for no reason at all, sometimes the machine would have a total meltdown and refuse to work, and I’d be left with an ominous red light staring me in the face. While I didn’t have an owner’s manual to my own mind, I did have a quote from Jay-­Z to guide me: “Only thing to stop me is me, and I’ma stop when the hook start.” I ardently believe in the first part; I don’t totally know what he means about the hook starting. There are many other better books on self care and having successfully used other self help/self care books does not make you an expert. This book comes across as an immature self-congratulatory romp through things the author has tried while giving you "permission" to do the same. You’re going to want Tara Schuster to become your new best friend.”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Untamed