Erin Chack

From cancer to boyfriends to menstruation (THAT OF WHICH WE WHO ARE MALES MUST NOT SPEAK!!!) BuzzFeed writer Erin Chack generally shies away from Too Much Information (TMI) except for the essay on the curse (THAT OF WHICH WE WHO ARE MALES MUST NOT SPEAK!!!) and even that essay was still a nugget of warmth and humor and insight.

There's no way I would have predicted how much I would have loved this book. It's just not in my wheelhouse. But describing it can't do it justice. The author's first show more officially pulp based product was one of the most enjoyable reads for me ever. Ever. That's "enjoyable" and not earth shattering or Pulitzer or Nobel Literature prize brilliant. It's a little better than that in the personal and personable introspective essays.

Ms. Chack writes for BuzzFeed. I don't care. I don't read BuzzFeed. But they've got a great writer on their hands. I'm not falling in love with Ms. Chack because I don't know her. But I HAVE fallen in love with her writing through this true gem of a collection of personal essays. Number one take away: Ms. Chack is an outstanding writer. Her prose is direct, clear, interesting, funny, bitter-sweet, insightful, and gosh darn well done.

These eleven essays are personal forays into the life and mind of a young woman. The kind of young woman who might look askance at this 60 year old overweight white guy - nothing personal, just the probable demographics. But even though we live in different universes, all of these essays connected immediately. The opening essay on surviving cancer (the good kind, you know, like curable?) is probably the most depressing, but at the same time (cliche warning) also uplifting. My favorite essay was probably "Find Your Carrot" which has helped me to understand why I've been married for 32 years. Reviewers aren't supposed to quote from advanced reader's copies of books, but if the editors delete the phrase "I've been walking around with a very fragile dried flower in my pocket, and sometimes I just can't believe it hasn't been crushed to dust yet." I will hunt them down and tell them what a stupid editor they are.

Thanks for sharing your life with us, Ms. Chack. May you write long and well.

P.S. Sorry I used the word "but" too many times in my review. But this IS a good book!

Disclaimer: I received a free Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) via the Amazon Vine program. show less

4.5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed reading This Is Really Happening. Erin Chack’s writing is clever and witty, and I easily finished the collection of essays in one sitting. While she is frequently side-splittingly funny, Chack also writes about her battle with cancer at age 19 so be prepared with tissues nearby. I needed them several times. When I started reading this book, I did not realize she was a senior writer for BuzzFeed. Having been subjected to hundreds of BuzzFeed quizzes and lists show more by my girls and heard about a thousand more, I loved the stories that focused on her job and the creation of some of these lists. I was also glad to hear how much she liked her job. With the recent spate of negative press for some of the large internet and news companies, it was refreshing to hear that BuzzFeed is a happy and satisfying place to work.

Every essay was fabulous. Frequently in an essay collection, two or three will not measure up to the rest, but in This Is Really Happening each essay held its own when compared to the others. My favorites were probably Don’t Read the Comments and It’ll Grow Back. Don’t Read the Comments focuses on how Chack creates the lists she generates including a list she once wrote about Malta and the publicity that resulted. She also addresses the anonymity the internet provides and the ugliness that it sometimes breeds when she details the criticism she occasionally receives. To help herself deal with the meanness, she tries to do two nice things for strangers to balance out the “Negativity Debt” engendered by the mean commentator. (I just love this idea). It’ll Grow Back addresses the loss of her hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes due to chemotherapy. Having had several close friends endure this travesty in the midst of already coping with cancer and the other horrific side effects of chemotherapy, I particularly liked that essay and plan to share it with every friend who has had or is currently going through treatment for cancer. It’ll Grow Back was very moving and effectively grapples with the fact that losing your hair can be so much more traumatic than the fact that you are now bald.

My one complaint was that her language could have been better at times. I never understand the need to throw in gratuitous bad words when so many other words exist that can convey the same point usually more effectively. This idea especially holds for a writer at BuzzFeed who has thousands of teen fans that will most likely be reading her work. However, that is a minor quibble, and it didn’t detract much from her essays.

I highly recommend This Is Really Happening and frequently laughed and cried. Thanks to First to Read for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less

I found out about this book through a series of fortuitous events, and I am so glad Erin Chack decided to write it. This book was so relatable for anyone who has gone through a difficult experience, especially the part about not wanting to "un-normal" everything. The book is hilarious at times, but you can also tell how deeply the author cares about her family and friends, which made it heart warming as well. What a resilient, genuine human being. I can't wait to see what she does next.

I wasn't quite sure about this book until I LOL'ed during the chapter about the menstrual cup. OMG! My co-workers must have thought I was nuts giggling and snort-laughing. Girl Shaped Tornado about hiding her cancer from friends, It'll Grow Back where she shaves her head after her hair starts to fall out due to the chemo treatments, and Why I Can Never Visit Egypt were my favorites.