Why read Sure, I'll Join Your Cult?

Book cover of Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere

Book description

From "weird, scary, ingenious" (The New York Times) stand-up comedian Maria Bamford, a brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems-from Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, to Suzuki violin training, to Richard Simmons, to 12-step programs.

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Sure, I'll Join Your Cult as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Lisa Brandt

Author

Mental illness, not thinking the way others do, seeing the world through your own lens, can be a superpower.

Just ask stand-up comedian Maria Bamford. Her quirky and unique comedy style comes to life in these pages as she navigates being “different” while cultivating an enviable career in entertainment.

She has tried everything to fit into society. She shares what works (or whether it even matters anymore) in this memoir. She’s a hoot.

From Lisa's list on Lisa Brandt's favorite books about women overcoming personal obstacles.

Strobe Witherspoon

Author

I tend to read more books about comedy than I do books by comedians. Bamford’s book was a welcome shift for me and provided unique insights into the mechanics of unconventional comedy. She has been revered by comedy nerds for a long time but I was only moderately familiar with her work, mostly in that she is at the forefront of a certain kind of confessional, discomforting comedy that sometimes focuses on her mental health, a topic that was, until recently, off limits in the mainstream comedy world.

Acclimating to the substance and tone comes relatively quickly. The juxtaposition of…

From Strobe's 3 favorite reads in 2023.