You're Doing Great!: And Other Reasons to Stay Alive

by Tom Papa

Overview

Comedian and Live from Here head writer Tom Papa, author of Your Dad Stole My Rake, tackles the modern condition in a heartwarming group of short essays.

Tom Papa is a little worried about you. You seem stressed, overworked and, frankly, a little mixed up.

Everyone is fighting an overwhelming feeling that things are getting worse, that we should be doing more, that we’re not good enough. Well, life isn't perfect. There have always been problems and there always will be. You can fight for the things you believe in, you can work really, really hard, but you shouldn't lose track of the fact that while you’re doing all that, life is flying by at lightning-fast speed. If you actually take a breath and look around you’ll realize you’re actually doing great.

Here’s the thing: We live in an amazing time filled with airplanes, scooters, and peanut butter cups. We have air conditioning, blenders, and martini shakers. It's time to refocus, enjoy it all, and stop waiting for something better! Relax with comedian and Live from Here writer and performer Tom Papa as he explores his favorite subjects in 75 essays, including:

You Don't Have to Live Your Best Life
Don't Open the Mail
I'm So Baked
I Love Your Love Handles
Don't Go Tubing
Shut Up and Eat

Recalibrate, turn off your device, and open your eyes to a better reality: You’re doing great!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250797155
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	492,339
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

TOM PAPA is a comedian known for his work in film, television, and radio as well as on the live stage. He is a frequent panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, a writer and performer on the public radio variety show Live from Here (the latest incarnation of the legendary radio show, A Prairie Home Companion), the host of a daily SiriusXM show, What a Joke with Papa and Fortune, and has recorded four stand-up specials that are currently streaming. When not touring the country, Tom lives in Los Angeles and bakes bread with his wife, daughters, cat and somewhat loyal dog.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

You Don't Have to Live Your Best Life 3

We Are Fan People 11

You Work Too Hard 23

Shut Up and Eat 31

A Very Funny Nose 39

Nancy and Emily 45

Fun Things That Aren't 51

It Takes Two 57

It's Bad for You and That's Okay 65

Here Comes Some Bad News 73

You're Rich! 79

Don't Go Tubing 87

A Lot Has Changed 94

A Simple Cup of Coffee 101

Stay Inside Where You're Safe 109

Someone to Love 116

The Good Old Days That Weren't 123

Massages Are for Sissies 127

Primo DNA 137

I Love Your Love Handles 143

It's Date Night 147

I'm Going to Mars!-if My Wife Will Let Me 153

Play by the Rules 161

I'm So Baked 169

A Couple of Really Bad Days 175

Be a Good Guy 184

Do You Ever Wish You Were Smarter? Not Me! 185

Let's Go Back 190

7-Eleven Heaven 197

Safe Travels 201

Please Lower Your Volume 209

More Than Just a Game 215

Time for Dinner 222

Don't Open the Mail 226

There's a Ghost in Your House 233

Staying Positive 240

The Greatest Show on Earth 244

Follow the Herd 251

Home Alone 259

Play Ball! 267

Get a Dog 275

And Now a Word from Our Sponsor 283

Acknowledgments 293

Editorial Reviews

03/30/2020

Comedian Papa (Your Dad Stole My Rake) offers a delightful set of upbeat and candidly humorous essays on the challenges of modern living. Society is “inundated, twenty-four hours a day, with news, images, and ideas of all kinds... and it’s messing with our heads,” he writes. His antidote: be grateful, relax, and stop trying to be perfect (“No one is happy all the time.... Whenever I see couples posting about how in love they are, I know they’re in trouble”). Papa, a Gen Xer who had a common-sense New Jersey Italian-American upbringing, is unapologetic about his passion for eating: “There’s too much happiness and history to put an end to it... who cares if you’re a little fat?” In “Let’s Go Back,” a touching departure from his straight-up humor, Papa writes to a deceased college friend about their shabby house share (“It’s hard when you outgrow something you love. It’s even harder when you lose the people that came with it”). In other essays, Papa recalls a river tubing accident (“It wasn’t awesome. Breaking a couple ribs on a rock at the bottom of a waterfall is stupid”), as well as the joys of living in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood in the 1990s. This collection is a clever respite for readers looking for lighthearted escape from their daily lives. (May)

Publishers Weekly

I have been a close friend of Tom Papa for 17 years. His lack of ability to perceive even the most basic principles of human functioning have made him an invaluable asset to me as a friend and colleague. Because he sees nothing, knows nothing and understands nothing, I always seek his advice for the most complex matters. Furthermore, I would definitely recommend whatever the name of this book is, because I know it comes from a place of pure nonsense without any knowledge of anything. He is really one of my favorite people.” – Jerry Seinfeld, author of SeinLanguage, on Your Dad Stole My Rake

From the Publisher

Comedian Tom Papa sounds like his low-key, charming self doing stand-up. This audiobook is smoother than his live performances, but it's not too polished, and his vocal quality and understated emotionality are perfect for his brand of homespun humor. He complains about his own mistakes—overeating, erratic decision-making, letting others control him—and supplies a hilarious list of human foibles, injustices, and insults that almost everyone suffers. All of this is to illustrate the point of his message: In spite of these realities, we’re going to be okay; in fact, we are okay—even with our missteps, foolish choices, and self-delusion. Papa’s delivery is perfect because it suggests the kind of lovable NYC everyman who would care enough to have these kinds of thoughts and share them with the rest of us. T.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

NOVEMBER 2020 - AudioFile

2020-02-10
A comedian muses on life, love, and simple pleasures.

Host of a daily SiriusXM show as well as a podcast, Papa gives ample evidence of his “ability to live on the happy side of the street” in a collection of funny, warmhearted essays whose overarching messages are, “we should be grateful for what we have” and “shouldn’t take life all that seriously.” The author is thankful for many things, including coffee (at the first sip each morning, he writes, “my entire being knows the day is about to improve”); baking bread, which he does with unabashed pleasure; a weekly date night, which he claims keeps a marriage happy; gathering for dinner with his wife and two daughters (“I just want to look up and see them and have them see me and realize we’re family. That’s why we eat together”); and indulging his desires at 7-Eleven stores, “crammed with everything you could ever need or want, just waiting for your arrival like delicious outposts on the modern-day prairie.” Papa encourages everyone to find someone to love, which, with 7 billion people in the world, should not be difficult. Love, he writes, is “finding someone whose flaws you can put up with.” Certainly, a few things annoy the author: loud, rude people, for example, who invade places that should be quiet and soothing, like breakfast rooms of motels. But if a few essays display irritation, most are generously encouraging. “Our minds are our worst critics,” he writes. “We do it to ourselves.” To keep thinking positively, Papa advises, “you need to avoid anything that can bring you down.” The most delightful essay is a nostalgic paean, reminiscent of E.B. White, to the funky, close-knit Manhattan neighborhood where he and his wife first lived: “we loved it, we loved each other, and even if we wanted to leave, our roots were growing deeper.”

Entertaining essays from a genial guide.

Kirkus Reviews