Cool, Calm & Contentious: Essays

"This is so well written. [When a book like this] comes along, it's, like, 'Thank you!' What a great way to spend an afternoon, an evening, reading these essays. . . . Absolutely great."--Jon Stewart "[Merrill] Markoe is easily as funny as David Sedaris. She's capable of manic riffs and acerbic skewering. Still, her good nature shines through." --The Washington Post In this hilarious collection of candid essays, including two pieces new to this edition, New York Times bestselling author Merrill Markoe reveals much about her personal life--as well as the secret formula for comedy: Start out with a difficult mother, develop some classic teenage insecurities, add a few relationships with narcissistic men, toss in an unruly pack of selfish dogs, finish it off with the kind of crystalline perspective that only comes from years of navigating a roiling sea of unpleasant and unappeasable people, and--voil?--you're funny! Cool, Calm & Contentious is honest, unapologetic, sometimes heartbreaking, but always shot through with Merrill Markoe's biting, bracing wit. "This has been a great year for funny women. . . . Let's call Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling exhibits A and B. Both owe a debt to those who came before, including Merrill Markoe."-- The Boston Globe "Markoe's goal is to find the absurdity in everyday life. That, coupled with her sharp wit, makes her writing sublime."-- BookPage "Laugh-out-loud humor." --Tampa Bay Times "Not only crazy-funny, but crazy-heartbreaking." --The New York Times