You're Better Than Me - by Bonnie McFarlane (Paperback)

About the Book

"It took Bonnie McFarlane a lot of time, effort, and tequila to get to where she is today. In this no-holds-barred memoir, Bonnie tells it like it is, and lays bare all of the smart (and not-so-smart) decisions she made on her way to finding her friends and her comedic voice."--

From the Back Cover

In the spirit of Mindy Kaling, Kelly Oxford, and Sarah Silverman, a compulsively readable and outrageously funny memoir of growing up as a fish out of water, finding your voice, and embracing your inner crazy-person, from popular actress, writer, and comedian Bonnie McFarlane.

It took Bonnie McFarlane a lot of time, effort, and tequila to get to where she is today. Before she starred on Last Comic Standing and directed her own films, she was an inappropriately loud tomboy growing up on her parents' farm in Cold Lake, Canada, wetting her pants during standardized tests and killing chickens. Desperate to find "her people"--like-minded souls who wouldn't judge her because she was honest, ruthless, and okay, sometimes really rude--Bonnie turned to comedy. In her explosively funny and no-holds-barred memoir, Bonnie tells it like it is, and lays bare all of her smart (and her not-so-smart) decisions along her way to finding her friends and her comedic voice.

From fistfights in elementary school to riding motorcycles to the World Famous Comic Strip, to Late Night with David Letterman, and through to her infamous "c" word bit on Last Comic Standing, You're Better Than Me is her funny and outrageous trip through the good, bad, and ugly of her life in comedy. McFarlane doesn't always keep her mouth shut when she should, but at least she makes people laugh. And that's all that matters, right?

Review Quotes

"McFarlane has guts, heart, jokes, and plenty of wise words in this hilarious journey through the dark heart of the entertainment industry." - Publishers Weekly
"McFarlane tells all in a frank, naughty, and very funny voice. . . . McFarlane's memoir kills." - Booklist
"Canadian comedian Bonnie McFarlane explores the strange, thrilling world of stand-up in this brutally candid memoir... The chapter title says much about her sense of humor: dark, off-color and deeply self-deprecating... You're Better Than Me is published under the imprint of Anthony Bourdain and, like his debut memoir, Kitchen Confidential, it is essentially an homage to the love of work. Describing her first experiences with stand-up as "horrible, scary, pathetic, and thrilling," McFarlane is nonetheless drawn to her chosen profession like a moth to a flame (or, in her words, an addict). While she may joke about bombing sets and taking shots before shows, her commitment to the craft is unwavering." - Shelf Awareness
"Canadian comedian Bonnie McFarlane explores the strange, thrilling world of stand-up in this brutally candid memoir." - Shelf Awareness
"Unlike many comedians' memoirs, hers isn't a padded transcription of her stage act, or degenerate tales of road life. The unmapped roads we get to travel don't need punching up. She's a generous narrator and a wickedly smart young woman in search of her comedic tribe. On the way, she comes to enjoy the company of herself. It's an equally happy thing as a reader to be let in on McFarlane's discerning mind as she makes her way to New York, and Hollywood, from the Canadian farm where she and her sisters were raised. She's as dry and acute on stage, with a stoner's puff of charm. You're Better Than Me should also easily earn its place as one of the best modern guides to a career in stand-up, not only because it's honest and sharp, but because it offers no prescriptions, only a red light - glowing and a little grungy - the light real comics shine, which can only be their own." - Vulture
"You're Better Than Me should also easily earn its place as one of the best modern guides to a career in stand-up." - Vulture