There's a telling passage late in the book where she admits to only finding her stand-up voice in her 50s, with that voice simply being to tell people to fuck off. Finally, sorrow and sorority inspired Jo to go all-out for charity and profits from 'The Funny Thing. Elsewhere, Annie shares a poignant encounter with a homeless Romanian man that really tugs at your heartstrings. The cutting between their youthful history, exploring and finding their own paths into creative lives, with Annie’s later relationship with her cancer – and Jo’s relationship with that – keeps the vivacious Annie front and centre even as her body weakens.

With the blessing of Annie’s partner, Martin, Jo includes several pieces penned by her sister in the book, invariably droll, witty vignettes. In the series, Jo is, as ever, failing to Shut Up about - love, marriage, dating, celebrity, newspapers, money, cats, sex, pubs, parties and quite possibly Scotland. I've seen jo read excerpts in her live show before I bought this book so it was already sold to me that night. The title derives from the stand-up "being the younger sister, I was always wearing Annie's old clothes" she told BCG.Jo delivers an hour of rock-solid stand-up, with flashes of viciousness that particularly delight the room? Jo then bluntly offers some context by suggesting that her sister was probably off her head on medication at the time and it probably never happened.

Her TV credits include appearances on Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, The Royal Variety Show, Michael McIntyre? In brief, measured chapters suffused with tenderness, warmth and some heartbreaking fragility in spite of herself, Caulfield has delivered a fitting tribute to her sister that, crucially, you suspect Annie would sneakily delight in. These were also traits that she shared with their RAF officer father, whose class pretensions clashed with Annie’s renegade, bohemian affectations. The Funny Thing About Death began by Jo writing a few articles to help herself process what had happened, it is now a hilarious memoir of two unconventional girls growing up in the 1970s.Laughter is what gets us through the toughest times, and Jo Caulfield demonstrates that beautifully in this heartfelt and hilarious book' -- Jimmy Carr 'A remarkable and cathartic read.

No thanks, I want to sleep well at night and be proud of my choices, not be part of the problem just because my ego wants to see myself on TV. Like her stand-up, Jo Caulfield’s caustic wit and razor-sharp observations make her account of life with her sister, even in the worst of times, as entertaining as it is touching and relatable. She even chose ‘The History of Edinburgh’ as her specialist subject when she appeared on Celebrity Mastermind in 2017.In each episode physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince delve into a particular field of science, with the help of guests from the worlds of science, academi. Structurally it’s fascinating, as the story of their lives together is juxtaposed with the arc of Annie’s illness.

I have the same muscle memory when I’m gardening, I seem to know how to do things because I saw my Dad doing it, it’s him doing it not me. Their mutual love of the absurd and the irreverent stories they concoct together is a delight to read. Jo moved to Edinburgh with her husband in 2013, having fallen in love with the city during numerous Fringe shows.a reminder that laughter is what gets you through the tears' * Press and Journal * 'Warm and tender, frequently very funny and, ultimately, incredibly moving tale of siblings and cancer. A memoir, the book carries parallel narratives, the story of Annie’s life and the story of her death. Whenever new comics ask me for advice, I always tell them: the audience have come along to have a good time, the audience want to laugh, so don't be scared of them. But The Funny Thing About Death remains an affecting portrait of two distinct yet forever entwined personalities. Established in 2009, Tippermuir seeks to add to the cultural life of Scotland by publishing interesting and worthy books in English and Scots.