The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer

Published by: Gallery Books

Date of Publication: August 16th 2016

Genres: Memoir/Autobiography/Humor

Pages: 323

Format: Audiobook (self-narrated)

Rating:★★★1/2 (3.5 Stars)

 

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Emmy Award-winning comedian, actress, writer, and star of Inside Amy Schumer and the acclaimed film Trainwreck has taken the entertainment world by storm with her winning blend of smart, satirical humor. Now, Amy Schumer has written a refreshingly candid and uproariously funny collection of (extremely) personal and observational essays.

In The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, Amy mines her past for stories about her teenage years, her family, relationships, and sex and shares the experiences that have shaped who she is – a woman with the courage to bare her soul to stand up for what she believes in, all while making us laugh.

Ranging from the raucous to the romantic, the heartfelt to the harrowing, this highly entertaining and universally appealing collection is the literary equivalent of a night out with your best friends – an unforgettable and fun adventure that you wish could last forever. Whether she’s experiencing lust-at-first-sight while in the airport security line, sharing her own views on love and marriage, admitting to being an introvert, or discovering her cross-fit instructor’s secret bad habit, Amy Schumer proves to be a bighearted, brave, and thoughtful storyteller that will leave you nodding your head in recognition, laughing out loud, and sobbing uncontrollably – but only because it’s over.

 

The Audiobook Experience…

I guess I should preface by mentioning that before deciding to listen to The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo in audiobook format, I wasn’t familiar with Schumer’s stand-up comedy. I only knew that she had been in the movie Trainwreck which I saw the trailer to & immediately added it to my “Must Watch” list. I’m glad I decided to go with the audiobook as I do with all my funny ladies books because I don’t think I would have fared well with the physical book. Coming off the happiness high that was Jenny Lawson’s Furiously Happy, I was looking for another humor filled audiobook. Although The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo had a few laugh out loud worthy moments, the parts that I enjoyed the most were the stories that fell on the lesser than happy side of Amy. This is a collection of essays, some with humor & others with a bit of sadness. Schumer is very comfortable in her skin and sexuality, something that i’ve come to admire from her. Some of the standout stories in The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo explore some very dark life experiences including a years long abusive relationship & the very real issue of non-consensual sex with your significant other. Stories that crushed me with the heaviness of sadness, had to be whenever she touched on her fathers Multiple Sclerosis. There were the come-up stories in which she highlighted moments of gender stereotypes amongst her peers & the media. Last but not least Amy shared stories that allowed the reader an inside look to world issues that she cares deeply for like gun violence/control. She speaks about the shooting at a theatre in Lafayette, Louisiana during a showing of Trainwreck that led to the deaths of Mayci Breaux, 21, and Jillian Johnson, 33. How these deaths have greatly impacted her & motivated her to take action. Schumer shares her experience at the White House, meeting President Obama for the first time at an event where he announced his executive orders aimed at stemming gun violence. She may have no hairs on her tongue about a ton of things, but she learned how to be humble & we see just how life has made sure she stays true to herself. Making the choice to educate herself on gun control laws & no longer sit on the sidelines watching, has to be my favorite essay in this collection.

Final Thoughts

I love that Amy Schumer isn’t afraid to show everyone her flaws, mistakes, and vulnerabilities in such a raw way that we’ve come to know through her comedy. She is many things to many people & is very self aware. Often times letting her readers know that she is aware of how she comes across & the many misconceptions people have of her because she’s comfortable using sex in her comedy. She points out a well known fact…being of the female sex in an industry predominantly made up of the opposite sex JUST ISN’T EASY! like many other female comedienne’s, Amy has been judged heavily by everything other than her craft, this includes her weight & sex life. The fact that she embraces who she is & doesn’t apologize to those who frown upon her makes me LOVE this woman & has managed to pique my interest in following her career going forward.

P.S. Can we give it up for Amy & that COVER!!!! #Fierce  *insert flames here*

“I know my worth. I embrace my power. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story. I will. I’ll speak and share and fuck and love, and I will never apologize for it. I am amazing for you, not because of you. I am not who I sleep with. I am not my weight. I am not my mother. I am myself. And I am all of you.” 
― Amy Schumer, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo