Synopses & Reviews
Hello, I am Mike Birbiglia and I want you to read my book. Too on the nose? Sorry. Let me dial it back.
I’m Mike Birbiglia and I’m a comedian. You may know me from Comedy Central or This American Life or The Bob & Tom Show, but you’ve never seen me like this before.
Naked.
Wait, that’s the name of another book. Also I’m not naked as there are no pictures in my book. Also, if there were naked pictures of me, you definitely wouldn’t buy it, though you might sneak a copy into the back corner of the bookstore and show it to your friend and laugh. Okay, let’s get off the naked stuff.
This is my first book. It’s difficult to describe. It’s a comedic memoir, but I’m only 32 years old so I’d hate for you to think I’m “wrapping it up,” so to speak. But I tell some personal stories. Some REALLY personal stories. Stories that I considered not publishing time and time again, especially when my father said, “Michael, you might want to stay away from the personal stuff.” I said, “Dad, just read the dedication.” (Which I’m telling you to do too.)
Some of the stories are about my childhood, some are about girls I made out with when I was thirteen, some are about my parents, and some are, of course, about my bouts with sleepwalking. Bring this book to bed. And sleepwalk with me.
Review
“Mike Birbiglia was always a very funny guy who told stories onstage. But in the last two years it's been inspiring to see the stories get bigger and more complicated and emotional as he turned himself into a real storyteller and—with this book—a real author as well. These are deeply relatable, totally engaging stories. They're as moving and amusing as they come.” —Ira Glass, host and producer of “This American Life”
Review
“Mike Birbiglia can write an entertaining yet soulful story in his sleep—that and jump out of motel windows.” —Sarah Vowell, author of The Wordy Shipmates and Assassination Vacation
Review
“First, know that this book is well written and funny. Now, know that I hate cynicism. Hate it. This book is the opposite of cynicism. I love Sleepwalk With Me.” —Jeff Garlin, Co-creator and Co-star of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Review
“Mike Birbiglia is a good friend of mine but I'm still really happy when weird, bad things happen to him because I love hearing the stories.” —Seth Meyers, head writer and host of Weekend Update, Saturday Night Live
Review
“Funny. Very funny. Birbiglia is the child Woody Allen and Bob Newhart never had—please don't try to picture that 'encounter.' Smart and self-aware, with just enough perspective on his quirks and issues that you don't have to feel too sorry for him...as you laugh at and/or with him.” —Bob Odenkirk, creator and star of HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David
Review
“Mike Birbiglia has always made me laugh and so did this book. No one explains their insanity as sanely or as honestly or is as funny as Mike. If you think you’re crazy, this is the book for you. It’s a good thing the kid is a talented writer and comic or he’d be screwed.” —Lewis Black
Review
“Sleepwalk with Me is so funny, inspired, and jealous-makingly well written, I am beginning to suspect that Mike Birbiglia MAY ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN AWAKE WHILE HE WROTE IT. This changes my whole worldview.” —John Hodgman, author of More Information Than You Require
Review
“Insightful, heartfelt, and comedic—what more could you want from a book? Mike Birbiglia is a unique and wonderful new voice in American theater and letters.” —Jonathan Ames, creator of HBO's "Bored to Death" and author of The Extra Man and Wake Up, Sir!
Review
“Sleepwalk With Me is about the things that keep us all up at night: love, family and growing up. In equal parts hilarious and moving, this book should cement Mike Birbiglia’s status as a national treasure.” —Andy Borowitz, author of Who Moved My Soap: The CEO's Guide to Surviving Prison; The Bernie Madoff Edition
Review
“Mike Birbiglia is a great storyteller, just as funny on the page as on the stage. These comic gems strung together create a hilarious and touching memoir of growing up awkwardly and finding his way in the cruel world of stand-up. An original wit who raises self-deprecation to an art form, and always leaves you thinking and laughing." —Nathan Lane
Synopsis
Comedian Mike Birbiglia's hilarious New York Times bestseller is now a major motion picture co-written and produced by Ira Glass (This American Life) that IFC Films will release in theaters and through Video on Demand in August--starring Birbiglia and Emmy-nominated actress Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under).
Finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor
Sleepwalk with Me is a comedic memoir, but I'm only thirty-two years old, so I'd hate for you to think I'm "wrapping it up," so to speak. But I tell some really personal stories. Stories that I considered not publishing time and time again--about my childhood, about girls I made out with when I was thirteen, about my parents, and, of course, about my bouts with sleepwalking. Bring this book to bed. And sleepwalk with me.
Synopsis
Based on his sensational hit one-man show, comedian Mike Birbiglia’s charming, laugh-out-loud funny memoir is a story about first love, denial, and the perils and pitfalls of being…and released in time to accompany his new show,
My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend .
Despite growing up in seemingly normal circumstances—four kids, two parents, a middle-class home in the suburbs with summer camp and church—early on Mike Birbiglia recognized the hilarity of life. He discovered his talent for mini-golf and piggybacked on his brother’s entrepreneurial genius in starting a golf-ball resale business from their backyard. He did chores for an older sister in return for pizza, while planning a career as a rapper, break dancer, and priest.
At the heart of Sleepwalk With Me is Mike’s absurdly funny and frustrating battle with anxiety and insomnia, which results in hallucinatory fights with Brad Pitt, midnight visits from a jackal, and a fall from a second story hotel room in Walla Walla, Washington.
In the tradition of David Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day, this is a laugh-out-loud, often mortifyingly funny collection of stories, from the mundane to the sublime, and they are all beautifully told. Sleepwalk With Me is a window into Birbiglia’s life…and will make you wonder how normal “normal” really is.
Synopsis
Finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor Sleepwalk with Me is a comedic memoir, but I’m only thirty-two years old, so I’d hate for you to think I’m “wrapping it up,” so to speak. But I tell some really personal stories. Stories that I considered not publishing time and time again—about my childhood, about girls I made out with when I was thirteen, about my parents, and, of course, about my bouts with sleepwalking. Bring this book to bed. And sleepwalk with me.
About the Author
In 10 years, MIKE BIRBIGLIA has grown from struggling comic to a popular talk show guest to a groundbreaking, original storyteller. The results? Two critically-acclaimed CDs, three Comedy Central specials and a Nathan Lane-produced Off-Broadway show called "Sleepwalk with Me" that was recently nominated for both a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Circle Critics Award for “Best Solo Performance.” Birbiglia’s comedy built him a cult following in colleges, then clubs, then concert halls nationwide and has made him one of the most popular touring acts to audiences of all ages. In 2008, Birbiglia teamed up with award-winning director Seth Barrish and Broadway legend Nathan Lane on "Sleepwalk with Me,” a painfully-funny one-man show about first love, denial and how the sleepwalking disorder that nearly killed Birbiglia might have saved his life. Due to popular demand the show was extended twice. The New York Times called the show, “simply perfect.” Birbliglia lives in New York City with his wife. SLEEPWALK WITH ME, grown out of the hit one-man show, marks his literary debut.