Grand: A Memoir

by Sara Schaefer Narrated by Sara Schaefer

Overview

Emmy Award-winning writer Sara Schaefer's hilariously honest memoir follows her “on this wild river descent into the Grand Canyon and her own secret family history. This is a Class 1000 Rapids of a memoir and I urge you to take the ride” (John Hodgman, author of Vacationland). Perfect for fans of Let's Pretend This Never Happened.

When Sara Schaefer is in first grade, her father warns her to always tell the truth because one lie leads to another and soon you will find yourself in a hole you can't escape. A few years later, the Schaefer family is completely upended when it's revealed that their grand life is based on a lie. Her parents become pariahs in their upper middle class community and go from non-religious people to devout church members. The idea of good and evil as binary, opposed forces is a lesson she never forgets.

The year she turns forty, Sara decides to take each member of her family on a one-on-one vacation culminating with a whitewater rafting journey through the Grand Canyon with her sister. The only problem is she's terrified of rafting. Along the way, she grapples with unresolved grief over the death of her mother and the family scandal that changed the trajectory of her life.

“Funny, sweet, heartbreaking, vulnerable, and powerfully written” (Moshe Kasher, author of Kasher in the Rye), Grand is “a wise, funny acknowledgment that we are not always in control-and that growth is most likely to happen when we let go” (BookPage).

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

In alternating chapters, and with plenty of heart, Schaefer traces the impact of a decades-old family scandal on her contemporary life in Grand.”
—Bustle

“Radiant ... [Schaefer] tells her story with a generosity that never lapses into sentimentality ... The melding of humor and pain makes Grand a fresh and engaging read. It is a wise, funny acknowledgment that we are not always in control—and that growth is most likely to happen when we let go.”
—Bookpage

“This is a funny, complicated book about a simple trip to the Grand Canyon that ends up unearthing some hilarious truths about its author, Sara Schaefer. I don’t even think she was ready for the upheaval, and she captures all of the confusion, beauty, and ultimate growth in brilliant prose. Go deep with this one.”
—Patton Oswalt, author of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

“I may be a tad biased, as I've been witness to Sara's career for well over a decade now, but this book is fantastic. Its conversational and honest style feels as though you're wrapped up in a big hug by a friend who makes it safe for you to reveal the most inner secrets of your life. I'm so proud of Grand, and it confirms what I knew years ago: Schaefer is a true talent, a strong writer, and has a delightful voice that we need to hear more of. This is just the beginning.”
—Phoebe Robinson, author of You Can't Touch My Hair

“I already knew from her comedy that Sara Schaefer is one of the funniest, smartest, bravest ones out there. But I didn’t understand just how deep the funny/smart/brave went until I went with her on this wild river descent into the Grand Canyon and her own secret family history. This is a Class 1000 Rapids of a memoir and I urge you to take the ride.”
—John Hodgman, author of Vacationland

“I already knew Sara was a great comedy writer. In Grand, she reveals herself to be a great author as well. Through her trip down a crack in the earth’s skin, Sara cracks open her own skin and lets her insides spill onto the page. Grand is funny, sweet, heartbreaking, vulnerable, and powerfully written. You’ll tear through it at the speed of a Class X rapid.”
—Moshe Kasher, author of Kasher in the Rye

“Damn funny and damn poignant ... Schaefer takes us on a wild, hilarious and moving ride through the stirring, scenic Grand Canyon and the turbulent rapids of her own soul. It’s one hell of a good trip!”
—Ed Helms

“Sometimes you have to go all the way to the bottom of the Grand Canyon to find your footing, and sometimes you just need the right book. In this vulnerable, hilarious and nostalgic reflection, Sara plunges us into some of life's wildest, most painful and most relatable circumstances, all while making sure our life vest is on tight.”
—Abbi Jacobson, author of I Might Regret This

Library Journal

10/23/2020

In her hilarious and heartbreaking memoir, stand-up comedian and writer Schaefer tells the story of growing up while intermixing chapters that detail a Grand Canyon rafting trip she took with her sister to celebrate the author's 40th birthday. Although she traveled with all her siblings, this trip into the great wide open Arizona desert sparked a journey that resulted in revisiting painful episodes in her life. Schaefer juxtaposes descriptions about barreling headfirst into dangerous rapids with chapters about how her father's confession that he had misused his clients' funds upended the entire family—a deft storytelling choice. Schaefer also shares relatable childhood experiences: insecurity when the girl she thought was her best friend accepts a friendship locket from someone else, the embarrassment of a bad haircut. With humor and humility, Schaefer takes readers into her adulthood, as she dealt with anxiety and depression and walked away from a marriage. Her prose is accessible and immediate, and her audience will eagerly follow along. VERDICT A perfect read for those who enjoyed Michelle Buteau's Survival of the Thickest and Amy Poehler's Yes, Please.—Traci Glass, Mesa, AZ

Kirkus Reviews

2020-05-04
A comedian and Emmy-winning TV writer recounts her whitewater rafting journey through the Grand Canyon and her struggles with unresolved family issues.

In her 40th year, Schaefer decided to take members of her family on individual vacations, culminating in a rigorous guided rafting journey down the Colorado River with her younger sister, Ross. At the outset, she confesses to having a deep fear of rafting, and she shows how their eight-day adventure evolved into a series of challenging feats, both physically and psychologically. In alternating chapters, Schaefer delves into her past, beginning with a pivotal event from her childhood when her father confessed to his family and community that he’d been embezzling clients’ funds from his business. This led to significant downsizing from their affluent way of life while the family’s reputation would be forever tainted in their community, and the revelation dramatically affected Schaefer’s future. “Inside of me,” she writes, “the story got smaller and closer together as I memorized an easily digestible version of what had happened. Dad became his own cautionary tale. He had made a lot of bad choices. Then, he had made a crucially good one by telling the truth. Mom forgave. Jesus forgave. We forgave. That’s a wrap, folks!...I swore to myself that I would never repeat his mistakes, and the lesson set permanently inside me like a bone healing out of place.” In addition to chronicling her adventures on the river, she examines, with varying levels of insight, family relationships, intimate relations, professional achievements and setbacks, and, more recently, her deeply felt loss after her mother’s death. Though the book contains passages of vivid storytelling, both on and off the river, the narrative is overly angst-driven and heavy-handed—more leavening humor from this talented comedy writer would have been welcome—and her many underlying issues ultimately feel unsettled.

An uneven exploration of family bonds and the pursuit of identity and self-esteem.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177170206
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	08/11/2020
Edition description:	Unabridged

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