Staff Pick
Save Yourself is a brave trek down a sometimes twisting, sometimes downright treacherous memory lane. Readers familiar with Esposito's stand-up will recognize some of these stories and be grateful for the deeper dive; those unfamiliar will delight in making her acquaintance; and all will have their hearts warmed by her missive of acceptance and kindness to her younger self. A frank, funny, and affecting read. Recommended By Tove H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
An aspiring priest, closeted lesbian, and future stand-up comedian walks into a bar...
It's Cameron Esposito and she-weighed down by Catholic guilt-immediately topples over. But like any scrappy protagonist with all the odds (and the Pope) stacked against them, she's able to pick herself up.
Now she would like to tell the whole queer as hell story. Her story. Not the sidebar to a straight person's rebirth-she doesn't give a makeover or plan a wedding or get a couple back together. This isn't a queer tragedy. She doesn't die at the end of this book, having finally decided to kiss the girl. It's the sexy, honest, bumpy, and triumphant dyke's tale her younger, wasn't-allowed-to-watch-Ellen self needed to read. Because there was a long time when she thought she wouldn't make it. Not as a comic, but as a human.
Save Yourself is full of funny and insightful recollections about everything from coming out (at a Catholic college where sexual orientation wasn't in the nondiscrimination policy) to how joining the circus can help you become a better comic (so much nudity) to accepting yourself for who you are-even if you're, say, a bowl cut-sporting, bespectacled, gender-nonconforming child with an eye patch (which Cameron was). Packed with heart, humor, and cringeworthy stories anyone who has gone through puberty, fallen in love, started a career, or had period sex in Rome can relate to, Cameron's memoir is for that timid, fenced-in kid in all of us-and the fearless stand-up yearning to break free.
Review
"This book offers a balm for anyone who has grown up gender atypical and for those who sometimes feel as though they haven't grown up at all." Oprah Magazine
Review
"Save Yourself is a gift that will help every person who reads it become braver, bolder, and more comfortable in their own perfect skin." Abby Wambach, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Wolfpack and Olympic soccer star who Cameron believes she's the same size as
Review
"Esposito is wildly funny and is particularly adept at finding humor in tough moments. . . This entertaining and candid memoir of finding one's identity will resonate with readers doing the same." Publishers Weekly
Review
"Cameron's humor is hope. Her quick wit is both a balm and a guide for anyone who has ever stepped out blithely into a world of doers trying to force themselves closed upon us. This book is about survival and love and laughter. I loved it." Jacqueline Woodson, #1 New York Times bestselling author and actual literary genius
About the Author
Cameron Esposito is a Los Angeles-based comic, actor, and writer. Cameron's career has spanned everything from big-budget films to Sundance indies to animation. She costarred in and cocreated the much-lauded Take My Wife, now on Starz, has written for the New York Times, and has appeared as herself on TV, podcasts, and web series alike. Cameron hosts a popular interview podcast, Queery with Cameron Esposito, and her recent hit comedy special, Rape Jokes, raised almost $100,000 for rape crisis intervention.