Publishers Weekly
01/06/2014
Actress and writer Gurwitch (You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up) offers up a rollicking collection of essays detailing the hazards encountered when a woman approaches 50. Whether she is extrapolating on the symptoms of perimenopause, attending a concert with her teenage son, assessing fashion for older women, or realizing the mistake of Googling “age-related conditions” on the Internet, Gurwitch tackles all of it all with aplomb. Her witty writing allows for deft exploration of even the most sensitive and intimate subjects while still finding the humor in her situation. She admits aging gracefully is best achieved with a bit of help, although it proves to be a zero-sum game with effects that fade quickly. “I’ve filled, frozen and ultrasounded, all in the name of what is often referred to as maintenance.” Gurwitch’s essay about becoming a member of the sandwich generation and caring for her aging parents is heartfelt and makes her aware of what the future holds. “This must be another milestone that lies ahead for me: the day when you speak to and of your doctors more frequently than your friends.” These essays contain a devilish good dose of fun and more than a dash of agita for those approaching and beyond the half-century mark. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
**A New York Times bestseller**
“[A] rollicking collection of essays detailing the hazards encountered when a woman approaches 50…..Gurwitch tackles all of it all with aplomb. Her witty writing allows for deft exploration of even the most sensitive and intimate subjects while still finding the humor in her situation…These essays contain a devilish good dose of fun.”—Publisher’s Weekly
“A seriously funny collection of essays about teetering over the edge of 50…Gurwitch is squarely in Nora Ephron territory.”—NPR.com
“Annabelle Gurwitch is a funny woman….At the center of the book is a serious question: How are we supposed to age? She convincingly argues that there is no longer a template.”—Judith Newman, The New York Times
“Growing older may not be a picnic, but Annabelle packs her literary basket with riotous turns in I See You Made an Effort, her very funny, keen observations on middle age…Humor and sarcasm may serve as the driving force behind each of these essays, but profound insight into the absurdities of modern middle age ultimately infuses Gurwitch's smart, searing wit.”—Shelf Awareness (starred)
“Whatever you do, do not mistake “I See You Made an Effort” as some kind of chick-lit book, because Annabelle Gurwitch’s essay collection about middle age is far from it. Rather, it’s a spot-on series of reflections on women in their 40s and 50s — the things they endure in the name of vanity and how society dictates so many of those things….But with each essay, or section, before she drags us down too far, she comes back with wit and another honest look at aging…. with a certain sense of humor and humility about getting older and learning to live with it.”—Amanda St. Armand, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Gurwitch confronts ageing the way we all should—with a healthy dose of hilarious self-deprecation.”—Mrs. Robinson Magazine
“Whatever you do, do not mistake I See You Made an Effort as some kind of chick-lit book, because Annabelle Gurwitch’s essay collection about middle age is far from it. Rather, it’s a spot-on series of reflections on women in their 40s and 50s — the things they endure in the name of vanity and how society dictates so many of those things….with a certain sense of humor and humility about getting older and learning to live with it.”—Amanda St. Amand, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“[Annabelle Gurwitch’s] unflinching and wickedly funny coming-of-middle-age story confronts the inevitable grit and glory of reaching the autumn of one's life.”—Amanda Montell, Time Out LA
“Annabelle Gurwitch takes us on a tour of the cruelest American punishment—female middle age—and along the way manages to highlight the existential questions that haunt every woman turning 50. Read, if you dare, I See You Made an Effort, and you will exit laughing at this rich display of Vintage Annabelle.”—Caitlin Flanagan, author of Girl Land and Goodbye to All
“The stories in Annabelle Gurwitch's book are unexpected, imaginative and her observations just plain cracked me up. It's so great it should be required reading for everyone between the ages of 40 and death. Scratch that—even after death it's a must-read.”—Bill Maher
“In this heartfelt and hilarious book, Annabelle Gurwitch infuses her razor-sharp wit with uncommon vulnerability and grace. Gurwitch bravely shines a light into the darkest corners of her soul and somehow you still come away laughing. You will feel like you are curled up on her couch, sharing a glass of wine and doing that rare and wonderful thing: connecting.”—Jillian Lauren, author of the New York Times bestselling Some Girls
“I See You Made an Effort is so funny, humble, and nutty that you'll wish Annabelle Gurwitch lived next door. I laughed and commiserated with all the indignities of getting a wee bit older in a youth-obsessed world. I teared up at her on-going frustrations with her teenager, which mirror my own. I enjoyed her open hostility and deep love toward her husband, which also (don't tell anyone) mirrors my own. After reading this book, you won't feel alone in your secret thoughts anymore. And you'll laugh really hard—the frosting on the cake!”—Julia Sweeney, author of If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother
“Smart, hilarious, and deeply moving, I See You Made an Effort captures the highs (few) and lows (more than a few) of not just turning fifty, but turning fifty in our time. From “having work done,” to mothering a mortified teenage son, to revealing the truth about married sex, Gurwitch lays bare the harsh reality of hitting the half-century mark in a way that keeps you simultaneously laughing and turning pages.”—Cathi Hanauer, author of Gone and editor of The Bitch in the House
“Hooray for Annabelle Gurwitch, whose funny and clear-eyed book proves that the best way to face aging is with copious amounts of laughter. Peals not peels!”—Henry Alford, author of Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?
“Annabelle Gurwitch proves that fifty is the new funny! I See You Made an Effort is a hilarious romp through mid-life's ups and downs, sags and droops, younger men and rompers and the voices of our mothers.”—Lisa Bloom, author of Think and Swagger
“Annabelle Gurwitch was always one of my favorite actresses, and now she's become one of my favorite writers. Her riff on living at “the intersection of feminism and Feministing” stayed with me. With as much heart as social commentary, I See You Made an Effort is ultimately not about aging out of anything—it's about aging into a bigger and better version of yourself than your younger self ever imagined.”—Jill Soloway, creator of Transparent and I Love Dick, director, producer of Grey’s Anatomy and Six Feet Under, and author of Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants
“Annabelle Gurwitch is the child prodigy of the literature on aging. At the youthful age of fifty, when most of us are stealthily burning our AARP magazines so the neighbors don't find them in the recycling, she has figured out how to make the humiliations of aging hilarious. The only downside of this book is that it is bound to deepen your laugh lines.”—Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times bestselling author of Nickel and Dimed
“Annabelle Gurwitch’s I See You Made An Effort is a little like going to get a mammogram with Lucille Ball.”—Jeanne Darst, author of Fiction Ruined My Family
“Annabelle Gurwitch stares into the maw of middle age and makes you laugh, cringe, hoot and holler. She turns fifty into a battle cry and a hallelujah.”—Felicity Huffman
“Whip smart and Ephron-funny, I See You Made an Effort is beautifully written and tender-hearted. It's a love letter in your pocket for the inevitable journey that lies ahead.”—Jane Kaczmarek
Kirkus Reviews
2014-02-20
A compendium of lighthearted, of-the-moment essays that address the many ups and downs of life at 50. The former co-host of Dinner and a Movie on TBS, humorist Gurwitch (co-author: You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up: A Love Story, 2010, etc.) opens her new collection by lamenting the onslaught of AARP solicitations ("At a glance, I thought it might be an ad for white-collar prison uniforms") that began showing up on her 49th birthday. On almost every page, she demonstrates a dogged commitment to elevating seemingly normal, even mundane happenings, such as buying moisturizer at the mall, and other encounters with people who include her husband, writer Jeff Kahn, and female friends, into situational comedies, frequently offering jokes at her own expense. Gurwitch makes for a highly likable, albeit sometimes-crass narrator who is willing to lay all of her cards on the table for the sake of entertainment. Infused with levity, confessions of her fears about getting older mostly relate to the way she looks and the lengths to which she's willing to go to fight gravity. Her neuroses show up in abundance—e.g., a monologue questioning whether or not washing fruit before eating it may lead to her death. "Pesticides are undoubtedly eating away at my insides this very minute, though statistically speaking, I will probably be bumped off by a teenage driver texting What's up?" These obsessive, superficial fears tap into similar threads running through most glossy women's magazines. Having written for many such magazines, including Glamour and More, Gurwitch proves adept at attempting to address and soften readers' shared concerns about their own age-related changes in appearance with her aggressively personal (some R-rated) deadpan admissions ("In the light of day, our living room couch looks depressed. Literally. That sofa has seen a lot of ass"). Casual, zingy observations.
