Publishers Weekly
03/30/2020
Comedian Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me) reflects on fatherhood in this fast-paced memoir, which also features his wife Stein’s brief, intimate poems. In 2016, 40-year-old Birbiglia was happily married and happily childless: “I’ve lost a lot of great friends to kids,” he notes. Then, Stein (Little Astronaut) tells him that she wanted to abandon their vow of childlessness; desperate to change her mind, he cites his dangerous sleepwalking disorder, high cholesterol, and a teenage bout with cancer as proof he’s “a walking pre-existing condition,” but his wife won him over. Stein develops complications during her pregnancy (she writes of her unborn daughter, “my body may fail you,/ (sorry)”), while the expectant father engages in “sympathy eating.” (“I’m so sorry you’re having cramps—are you gonna finish those fries?” writes Birbiglia). In the months after daughter Oona’s birth, Birbiglia grows fearful that he may never connect with his “little monkey,” yet soon enough he wins small victories, like receiving “record-high approval ratings” from Oona for his rendition of “Ave Maria.” The turning point comes when he plays hide and seek with her in a furniture showroom, and she begins “laughing so hard that I start laughing in a new way... We’re laughing as one.” Birbiglia’s witty take on new parenthood will resonate especially with those who’ve been there. (May)
From the Publisher
"Mike Birbiglia and Jen Stein are the best collaborators since Emily Dickinson teamed up with her long-winded comedian friend. I'm joking because I cannot express how much this book affected me and how many times it made me cry."—John Mulaney, comedian
"Mike Birbiglia & J. Hope Stein have written the seminal parenting tome—side-splittingly funny from the first word to the last delicious bite. It's a page-turner, wise and wise-assed, the comic hit of the year. Whether you've been a parent or ever had one: you'll love this knockout!"—Mary Karr, authorof The Liars' Club, Cherry, and Lit
"Life is not the same after having children. It's delusional to pretend otherwise. But Mike Birbiglia and J. Hope Stein have not only survived, they're making their most hilarious and truthful art yet. This book might save your best friend's life."—Lin-Manuel Miranda, PulitzerPrize Winning writer of Hamilton
"Mike Birbiglia and Jen Stein are the best collaborators since Emily Dickinson teamed up with her long-winded comedian friend. I'm joking because I cannot express how much this book affected me and how many times it made me cry."—John Mulaney, comedian
"This is a brilliant, funny, big-hearted version of he-said, she-said. Birbiglia and Stein trade jokes and poems and splendid storytelling about their roundabout stumble into parenthood. It's hilarious, humane, often beautiful, and absolutely captivating."—Susan Orlean, staff writer at The New Yorker and New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book
"The genius of this book is that Mike Birbiglia and J. Hope Stein have invented a totally new form. He tells incredibly funny stories. She gives a gorgeous, epic view of the same events, in poetry (she's a published poet who's been in The New Yorker). It's about what they went through together, not wanting to have kids, and then having kids, through these two very different lenses. Their diabolical writing trick: sometimes she delivers the laughs and he delivers the feelings."—Ira Glass, host of Public Radio's This American Life
"Fusing good humor and raw honesty with selections from Stein's evocative poetry, Birbiglia narrates his journey into parenting...Hilarious, relatable, cringeworthy, and effortlessly entertaining."—Kirkus (starred review)
"In a 'town where everyone is pretending to be happy and pretending to be in good marriage and pretending to be in a nice house' it takes a poet and a comedian to tell us the truth. What is this truth? That we are lost, but trying to find ourselves, that we are awkward but long for grace, we are cruel but delight at the slightest drop of tenderness. This book is hilarious because it shows us a mirror that doesn't lie. It sings because words give delight in each simplest moment. Imagine Groucho Marx and Jane Kenyon sit at the kitchen table and compose a book of days. When nothing else helps, it is a sense of humor and a beautiful song that will get us through."—Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic and Dancing in Odessa
"I wish I had read The New One before having a kid. Mike confronts parenthood with the kind of devastating honesty that can't help but be funny, and Jen's poems capture what prose can't. In a better world, this book would be sold with every pregnancy test in America."—Bess Kalb, author of Nobody WillTell You This But Me
"If The New One on Broadway is a raucous, tumbling tour through the many roomed house that is Mike and Jen's journey into parenthood, then this book is a long, cozy weekend inside the home. Mike makes you coffee and settles in to tell his story at a wonderfully readable pace, bringing detail and nuance impossible to contain in the stage show. Jen's poetry is the big stunner, an outrageous treasure casually presented, emeralds strewn amongst crumbs across the kitchen table, a string of pearls hanging on a doorknob."—Jacqueline Novak, author of How to Weep in Public
"Expanded from his one-man show of the same name (and including poetry by his wife), comedian Birbiglia's rueful, hilarious take on new parenthood is a treat."—People
"Comedian, actor, director, and producer Mike Birbiglia explores his mixed feelings about becoming a parent. His confessional and observational prose passages are interspersed with lyrical interludes written by his wife, poet J. Hope Stein...A lighthearted and uncomfortable portrait of fatherhood."—Publishers Weekly
"Sex, sympathy weight, and Birbiglia's sleep disorder are all fair game in this hilariously, sometimes shockingly, and always refreshingly honest look at having a kid and becoming new one's self."—Booklist
"Seasoned and rookie dads alike will appreciate Birbiglia's comic riffs on family life. His memoir is a can't-miss gift that's sure to make 'em laugh."—Bookpage
"Reading this raw and vulnerable book was almost like opening a page into Mike Birbiglia's diary; his emotion is truly refreshing. He is a wonderful comedian who will have you laughing and crying and thinking, all in the span of a single chapter."—Bookreporter
Library Journal - Audio
★ 09/01/2020
Comedian Birbiglia knocks it out of the ballpark with his second collection of humorous essays and insights. After his first volume discussing his hilariously terrifying sleepwalking troubles (Sleepwalk with Me), he's graduated to a scarier topic: parenthood. His latest chronicles the journey Birbiglia and his wife, Jennifer Hope Stein, take, from denial that they'll ever want kids of their own, grim acceptance when his wife decides that she actually does want a baby, to creating an entirely new lifestyle subject to their child Oona's needs. Peppered throughout are Stein's poems about their daughter, their marriage, their fears, and their love. The poems complement her husband's insights and help balance the story of their forays into parenthood. The anecdotes are poignant, moving, and humorous. Fantastically narrated by both the authors, this is a book that all parents will easily relate to and laugh along with. VERDICT This highly entertaining and engaging listen is ideal for library collections and would make a great gift for new (and old!) parents and comedy fans.—Erin Cataldi, Johnson Cty. P.L., Franklin, IN
JUNE 2020 - AudioFile
Entertainer Mike Birbiglia and his wife, J. Hope Stein, work together to present a humorous contemporary story of reluctant parents. The pair are excellent foils. Birbiglia is lively—full of ironic observations and laugh-out-loud one-liners. Stein is more reserved, breathy and sincere as she reads her original poems, which are sprinkled throughout. In this audiobook listeners are getting the best moments of Birbiglia's stand-up comedy routines and Broadway show, which were based on the same theme. His experience as a performer shines through in the pace and timing of his narration. Listeners will appreciate the honesty behind his wit, along with the quieter tone of reflection in Stein's reading. M.R. 2021 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2020-02-24
Self-deprecating reflections on the peaks and valleys of modern fatherhood.
Comedian Birbiglia and his wife, Stein, parlay their individual creative talents into a funny and wise memoir on parenting. Fusing good humor and raw honesty with selections from Stein’s evocative poetry, Birbiglia narrates his journey into parenting using material previously adapted for the Broadway stage. From the outset, the author admits to having “a low tolerance for children because I’ve lost a lot of great friends to kids.” He was up front about that fact since he and wife Stein got married in 2008, but when she casually mentioned that having children would “be different” for them, Birbiglia knew he was in store for some major changes. Though he outlines seven reasons for his reluctance about becoming a father—e.g., overpopulation, cancer history, a lack of great people in the world (“The men we used to think were great were priests, politicians, and gymnastics doctors. It hasn’t ended well for great”)—Birbiglia eventually warmed to the idea. The couple birthed their daughter, Oona, despite the author’s varicocele condition, demanding touring schedules, and Stein’s brutally difficult pregnancy. The author ably narrates these hurdles with the serious concern of a devoted husband and the comic timing of a seasoned entertainer. Throughout the book, Stein seamlessly interweaves her artistic verses, tempering all the facetiousness beautifully. Never clinical or overly extreme, Birbiglia’s lighthearted, refreshingly droll approach to starting a family will appeal most to readers who can identify with both his reluctance to couple up and his acceptance and embracement of parenting. There are also shared moments of introspection and maturity, not to mention useful wisdom. As Oona moved into toddlerhood, Birbiglia began to accept himself as the “decent dad” he never thought he could become.
Hilarious, relatable, cringeworthy, and effortlessly entertaining, particularly for new parents or those in contemplation.
