Tig Notaro

If you know Tig Notaro and her story, there is not going to be much new in her book I'm Just a Person by Tig Notaro, but it is still a fun read.

The book is mostly about Tig Notaro's worst year- 2012. Within the span of a few months, her mother dies, she is diagnosed with a disease that only the elderly get (C-Dif), her girlfriend breaks up with her, and she is diagnosed with breast cancer and must have a double mastectomy.

The book is also about how these things and her famous Largo stand up set, launched her career into the stratosphere and gave her a new life. We all know Tig's story because we have seen her on HBO, her movie, heard the set, and have seen her tell the story on TV. All of it happened because of this horrible year and her willingness to be real with her audience.

As stated in the opening, I have heard much of this story, so it was not new material to me. I am a slightly more than casual fan of Tig's and have seen the documentary, her HBO specials, have listened to Professor Blastoff, and have seen her in a few TV shows. I enjoy her comedy and know the stories.

What I enjoyed about the book was how in depth she goes into her mother's life in the early chapters of the book. Her mother was a huge influence on her and her outlook on life and it comes through in the pages. Her mother's influence also showed in how she faced her own cancer treatments and surgery.

The other part of this book that is worth owning are the pictures that come within the book. There are the usual pictures that normally come with the memoir type books in the center, but there are also drawings of Tig's life throughout the book. Her mother liked drawing and passed that talent onto Tig who included original drawings throughout the book. Those were incredible and gave the book a little extra oomph.

The wonderful thing about Tig, besides her ability to stay strong and funny throughout this horrible time, is her ability to be vulnerable. She shares that things were not easy and she wasn't alway happy and things got rough, yet she does it knowing the end story. There is a lot of hope and courage in her story and for that, even though I have heard it several times, I still say it is worth the read.

I gave this one 4 stars.… (more)

Deadpan is absolutely right about Tig Notaro’s delivery during her stand up routines. It translated to the audiobook as well (read by the author). Whether she was talking about her mother dying, or being extremely happy in a romantic relationship seemed to elicit the same emotional response.
Tig definitely went through the ringer and I’m glad I listened to this, but there’s a but ... I just don’t know how to express what it is that I’m finding is missing. Maybe it is the emotional delivery from the reader.… (more)