Book Review: The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo

09.27.2016

For whatever reason, this past month I had a hard time getting into any books. This is in part because so much of my attention was directed at my new job, in part because nothing I was really excited to read came in, in part because I was spending a lot of time with my boyfriend before he went back to school. But I was ready to break my reading-lull when Amy Schumer's The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo showed up in my reading queue. Amy Schumer's not someone I pin all of my feminist hopes and dreams (and labels) to, but I do appreciate her work and many of the ideas she promotes. Needless to say I was very excited to read her book (the latest in a long list of biographies I have read and loved!), and it did not disappoint.

TGwtLBT is just as much about the hard, scary, sad parts of Amy's life as it is about the funny, awkward, we've-all-had-this-happen experiences she's had. Ultimately it's about the experiences that shaped the person and celebrity she is today, told honestly and sprinkled with humor. What made the book stand out was that she wasn't trying to be funny. Often comedian's books become comedy sets, told in book form. This is fine to an extent, but offers no insight into who that person is, or what unique experiences they've had. Instead of trying to make you laugh Amy tells her story as it is, throwing in jokes and levity where appropriate without sacrificing the integrity of the book. More than a fun pick-me-up read, Amy's book helped me understand how to interact with the mentally ill, how to handle sexist comments, how to be a person in the world just a tiny bit better. If you haven't got your hands on a copy yet, I can't recommend it enough!