Synopses & Reviews
A sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir about fatherhood and the ups and downs of raising a family in modern America
No one writes about family quite like Drew Magary. The GQ correspondent and Deadspin columnists stories about trying to raise a family have attracted millions of readers online. And now hes finally bringing that unique voice to a memoir. In Someone Could Get Hurt, he reflects on his own parenting experiences to explore the anxiety, rationalizations, compromises, and overpowering love that come with raising children in contemporary America.
In brutally honest and funny stories, Magary reveals how American mothers and fathers cope with being in over their heads (getting drunk while trick-or-treating, watching helplessly as a child defiantly pees in a hotel pool, engaging in role-play with a princess-crazed daughter), and how stepping back can sometimes make all the difference (talking a toddler down from the third story of a netted-in playhouse, allowing children to make little mistakes in the kitchen to keep them from making the bigger ones in life). Its a celebration of all the surprisesjoyful and otherwisethat come with being part of a real family.
In the wake of recent bestsellers that expose how every other culture raises their children better, Someone Could Get Hurt offers a hilarious and heartfelt defense of American child rearing with a glimpse into the genuine love and compassion that accompany the missteps and flawed logic. Its the story of head lice, almost-dirty words, and flat head syndrome, and a man trying to commit the ultimate act of selflessness in a selfish world.
Review
Praise for Someone Could Get Hurt
"Laugh-out-loud funny . . . An outspoken dad's brassy, wise and painfully honest view from the top of the family tree."
—Kirkus Reviews
“There are a lot of memoirs that are filled with sweet, syrupy, stories and annoying life lessons. This is not one of them. It's an honest and hilarious potrayal of how aggravating it can be to raise a family. Even my dad would read this, and he generally thinks the name Drew is reserved for inbreds.”
—Justin Halpern, author of the New York Times bestseller Sh*t My Dad Says
Drew Magary's book shows better than anything else I've read—with humor and sadness and fear and style—what it's like to be a parent. He reveals the honest terror of it. But the beauty too, and the dragginess, and joy, and all the rest. If you're a parent, read it. If you want to be a parent—or know someone who does, or already is—read it. So, yeah. Just read it.
—Darin Strauss, NBCC award-winning author of Chang and Eng and Half a Life
“The world needs Drew Magary's wonderfully funny, breathtakingly honest book about parenting, which reveals what few have the nerve to come right out and say: It's never going to be perfect—but there's no shortage of hilarity amid the heartaches. Parents will feel a little less alone in the company of these chapters, and non-parents will get a moving, utterly entertaining glimpse into a world that might be theirs someday. Reading this book was like being held and rocked through the joys and pains of life all night long, with no spit-up involved.”
—Jen Doll, memoirist and senior writer at The Atlantic Wire
“Absolutely wonderful. Drew Magary has written an honest and funny and moving account of his journey into parenthood. He has an eye not only for the absurdities of the human condition but also for its deeper meanings.”
—David Grann, author of The Lost City of Z and The Devil and Sherlock Holmes
"The Father's Day book for dads who hate getting books for Father's Day. Someone Could Get Hurt is hilarious, unpretentious and honest."
—Will Leitch, author of Are We Winning? and God Save The Fan.
"If you know how to read you should definitely read Magary's book. Whether you don't have children, have children, or you've recently stolen a few, you will love this."
—Joel McHale, Comedian
“ If you are a parent, I challenge you to not simultaneously laugh and sob through this entire book”
—Rachel Dratch, comedian and author of Girl Walks Into a Bar
"As expected, Drew provides the reader with biting humor and profane observations about parenthood, but his stories are also disarmingly candid, tender and insightful. You will cry as much as you laugh at this deeply moving and brutally honest account of family life. I expected it to be laugh out loud funny, but damn if there isn't some seriously deep shit woven in with the wit, and because of that, I developed a soft spot and a new respect for this smart ass motherfucker. Oh, and I now say 'Amen' after every fart." —Nicole Knepper, LCPC, MA
Jojobogoski, Ltd. Mental Health Counselor and Consultant/ Freelance Writer
Review
“Its an honest and hilarious portrayal of how aggravating it can be to raise a family.” —Justin Halpern, author of the
New York Times bestseller
Sh*t My Dad Says “The world needs Drew Magarys wonderfully funny, breathtakingly honest book about parenting.”
—Jen Doll, memoirist and senior writer at The Atlantic Wire
“The Father's Day book for dads who hate getting books for Fathers Day.”
—Will Leitch, author of Are We Winning? and God Save the Fan
“If you are a parent, I challenge you to not simultaneously laugh and sob through this entire book.”
—Rachel Dratch, comedian and author of Girl Walks into a Bar...
Review
“Dowling's a very fresh and smart writer…there's a proper laugh every couple of pages, and as often as not it arises from the texture of the situation, the tone of voice, the characters…But as well as being funny, which he has to be, Dowling is sometimes plangent - as in a chapter about his mother's death - and he is more often than not wise.”—Sam Leith, The Guardian (UK)
Synopsis
A sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir about fatherhood and the ups and downs of raising a family in modern America No one writes about family quite like Drew Magary. In Someone Could Get Hurt, he reflects on his own parenting experiences to explore the anxiety, rationalizations, compromises, and overpowering love that come with raising children.
In brutally honest and funny stories, Magary reveals how American mothers and fathers cope with being in over their headsfrom getting drunk while trick-or-treating and telling dirty jokes to make bath time go smoothly to committing petty vandalism to bond with a five-year-old.
Someone Could Get Hurt offers a hilarious and heartfelt look at child rearing with a glimpse into the genuine love and compassion that accompany the missteps and flawed logic. Its the story of head lice, almost-dirty words, flat head syndrome, and a man trying to commit the ultimate act of selflessness in a selfish world.
Synopsis
A riotously funny book about how to be a good husband (not like he would know) by Tim Dowling, star columnist for The Guardian. Think Nick Hornby meets Dave Barrywith a hint of Modern Family.
About the Author
Drew Magary is a correspondent for GQ and a columnist for Deadspin and Gawker. Hes also the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Postmortal and Men with Balls. He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids.