I now blog over at The Eyre Guide! This blog is an archive of my past posts.


Friday, August 8, 2014

Review: Self-Inflicted Wounds

Posted by Charlene // Tags: , ,
Self-Inflicted Wounds
Heart-warming tales of epic humiliation
by Aisha Tyler
Amazon  /  Goodreads

Plot Summary:

self-inflicted wound (n): a spectacularly humiliating, and often hilarious, incident entirely of one's own making.
see also: you did it to yourself.

Have you ever made a decision you instantly regretted? Humiliated yourself in a room of your peers, or shamed yourself in front of your massive crush? Ever blown a job interview, frozen during a presentation, acted like a total idiot on a date? Ever said the wrong thing at the wrong time, unable to keep your tongue from flapping out the stupidest words you've ever said in your life, ever? If you are a human being, the answer, of course, is yes. Take heart. You're not alone. This is known as the Self-Inflicted Wound, and every one of us bears a scar. Or several.

Here, Aisha Tyler, comedian, actress, cohost of CBS's The Talk, star of Archer, and creator of the top-ranked podcast Girl on Guy, serves up a spectacular collection of her own self-inflicted wounds. From almost setting herself on fire, to vomiting on a boy she liked, to getting drunk and sleeping through the SATs, to going into crushing debt to pay for college and then throwing away her degree to become a comedian, Aisha's life has been a series of spectacularly epic fails. And she's got the scars to prove it. Literally.

Through it all, Aisha's triumphs haven't come in spite of the failures, but because of them. Because with every failure comes a lesson learned, a strength revealed, a fear overcome, or an adventure braved. Self-Inflicted Wounds isn't just about surviving failure. It's about embracing failure—pursuing it, even—on the winding path to success. And after you've failed a time or three, hopefully you'll have learned something. Or at the very least have a really killer story. Because to err is human, but to fail epically is hilarious.

Review:

Aisha Tyler's voice in this book is outstanding.  She's so witty and erudite, and everything she describes in each of her stories are alternately charming and horrifying.  And funny.  She walks that line so well.  Each of her tales of self-inflicted wounds (bad things that happen to you and are totally your own fault) are also a mix - of stories you can relate to, and stories you can't believe anyone would allow to have happen to them.  But they are all engaging, and the story a chapter format makes it very easy to keep reading, especially if you are eager to know what spectacular thing has happened to warrant the enticing sounding chapter title.

The truly great thing about each story though is how Aisha manages to turn it into a message - a learned lesson that for the most part encourages people to embrace what is different about themselves and also embrace that it is inevitable that we all will make mistakes.  There are some interesting insights into human nature that comes from being very observant, and throughout it all we get a glimpse of Aisha's childhood which is almost another story in itself.  Aisha's love of books and learning also made me very happy (although she had some very esoteric reading material sometimes) as I could completely relate to that.

This book is full of footnotes, which Aisha uses to add in little funny asides that add even more humor to her stories.  Even though I'm usually not crazy about having to read footnotes, I started to look to the bottom even before I began the page to see what funny comment or reference Aisha made there.  Although that didn't help me get into my reading flow.  There are times too when Aisha can be too wordy and excessive in her metaphors - even though everything she says is completely entertaining, I thought it sometimes slowed down the pace of the book.  This isn't a big deal though because she gets to the meat of her stories pretty quickly and this book is so entertaining, fun, thoughtful and intelligent.

Share this post: Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Email This Pin This Share on Google Plus Share on Tumblr
Scroll Up

16 comments:

  1. This book sounds... painfully funny :D Sooo yeah, I'm not sure if I "need" the book, but I might check out that podcast (since I'm pretty into them these days ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. That would describe it very well! :) But checking out the podcast is a great idea - then you can get an idea of her humor and see if you would enjoy reading about it. And the great thing about her podcast is she has every guest tell their own self-inflicted wound so it's a nice treat at the end of the podcast!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I absolutely adore her in Archer! :D I definitely want to read this book if I want a good laugh. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've just started watching Archer and it's hilarious! I think this will make you laugh and think which is great! I hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to read it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've already borrowed the audiobook! ;) All I'm going to hear is Lana telling these stories instead of Aisha Tyler. Haha! I'm glad you started watching Archer! I'm up to the season before the latest one.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh great! Aisha reading her book is probably the best way to experience it. :) Enjoy a nicer version of Lana telling you her stories. LOL :D I'm just a few episodes into the first season, so I have a ways to go!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am not a nonfiction reader. But every now and then I can start one and finish it and those are usually the ones that are humorous. I am so glad you enjoyed this!! You got to see her at comic con right??? That makes this even more fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This one sounds hilarious! But I agree with Cayce's comment: it sounds painfully funny! I might check out the podcast first. I don't want to read a book that I find awkward or uncomfortable :D

    ReplyDelete
  9. This book sounds hilarious! I remember her from Ghost Whisperer (love that show!) and I am curious to see what this book is about. Especially since you mentioned the funny footnotes and interesting chapter titles. Great review, Charlene!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'd be nervous to pick this up because it sounds so unpleasant to live vicariously through someone else's bad moments!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I do like to read memoirs by comedians for the laughs - it's more entertaining than a regular biography for me! And definitely it was awesome meeting her in San Diego!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think this is a fun read more than uncomfortable - her stories are like when she set fire to the kitchen as a little girl because she was addicted to french fries and had to make some. And vomiting on a boy she liked cause she got too drunk and dancing in a talent show even though she didn't prepare. It's really more entertaining, but listening to the podcast is also a great way to find out what her humor is like!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I didn't know she was on Ghost Whisperer! Actually only really started to know Aisha from her hosting Whose Line is it Anyways and her podcast. But I have to check out some of her old stuff too! This book is a really fun read!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh I hope I didn't misrepresent this - I don't think it's meant to be uncomfortable - the stories are more light-hearted. Like I mentioned in another comment just now - her stories are like when she set fire to the kitchen as a little girl because she was addicted to french fries and had to make some. And vomiting on a boy she liked cause she got too drunk and dancing in a talent show even though she didn't prepare. But if you ever felt like checking out her podcast, that should be a great way to get to know her humor!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh, no! I definitely got that you liked it and that it was an enjoyable read. I'm just not sure that's enough for me to get over my concern about the topic :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ah, ok, that makes sense - I'm sure it's not for everyone!

    ReplyDelete