Synopses & Reviews
From the beloved and bestselling memoirist comes a funny and affecting look at making the most of our friendships in an age of isolation. With her inimitable wit and disarming warmth, Julie Klam shares with us her experiences, advice, and insight in Friendkeeping, a candid, hilarious look at some of the most meaningful and enjoyable relationships in our lives: our friendships. After her bestselling You Had Me at Woof, about relationships with dogs, Klam now turns her attention to human relationships to great effect. She examines everything—from the curious world of online friendship to the intersection of friendship and motherhood. She even explores how to hang on to our friendships in the toughest circumstances: when schadenfreude rears its ugly head or when we don’t like our friend’s mate. Klam relays a mix of brand-new and time-tested wisdom—she finds that longtime friends really can grow up without growing apart; that communication is key; that friendship is one of life’s great, free sources of happiness; that you’re not a friend, just a doormat, if you don’t get back what you give—and her discoveries range from amusing to deeply important. Charming, bracingly honest, and compulsively readable, Friendkeeping is an irresistible book, a treat that you’ll want to share with your best friends right away. Brimming with keen observations and laugh-out-loud moments, it’s delivered in the lively, accessible voice that Julie Klam’s readers have come to know and love.
Review
"If tragedy plus time equals comedy, Julie Klam makes the most of that equation. Her funny, poignant, and original first memoir is a must read for anyone who has ever had a mother, a crazy boyfriend, or has been in therapy. This is gallows humor from a girl who lived life at the end of her rope."
-Carrie Fisher, author of Postcards from the Edge
"Julie Klam is one funny writer. Please Excuse My Daughter is also unstintingly honest and very smart; a slyly moving book, it stays with you."
-David Rakoff, author of Don't Get Too Comfortable and Fraud
"Julie Klam's memoir is so hilarious and touching and terrific that I like to go around claiming the reminiscences in it are mine. If you read this book and don't think it's droll and funny and happy and sad, then you and I surely disagree about everything."
-Patricia Marx, author of Him Her Him Again The End of Him
"In a memoir that is often hilarious, sometimes poignant, and always endearing, Julie Klam lets us in on her deepest secrets and invites us to share in her struggles and triumphs as a daughter, wife, mother, and writer. Please Excuse My Daughter is an exhilarating debut from a major new writer, one with an almost-magical knack for finding comedy in the most unlikely places."
-Rich Cohen, author of Sweet and Low: A Family Story
Review
“Julie Klam is like Proust, if he wrote about dogs instead of madeleines, wrote in English instead of French, had better hair—and wrote exceptionally hilarious books that you can’t help reading all at once.”
—Patricia Marx
“[Julie Klam] can break your heart . . . then lift your spirits higher than a kite.”
—The Huffington Post
Review
“Julie Klam is one funny writer.”—David Rakoff, author of Don’t Get Too Comfortable and Fraud “[Julie Klam] can break your heart with one hand but then lift your spirits higher than a kite.”—The Huffington Post
Review
“[Klam’s] smartest book yet…amusing, poignant…a rollicking must-read.”
—People
“[Klam is] taking seriously something, namely adult friendships, that often turns into the wallpaper of cultural life: something that's there, and that's lovely, and that ideally you don't have to think about, but not something that you would delve into deeply.”
—NPR.org
“Klam addresses real relationships and the raw problems of human life... [and] shares her personal, honest, funny, and poignant friend experiences”
—The Atlantic Wire
“Klam's voice is often flat-out hilarious… [she] never fails to come up with terrific comic vignettes and sharp one-liners… highly entertaining.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Julie Klam is one funny writer.”—David Rakoff, author of Don’t Get Too Comfortable and Fraud
“[Julie Klam] can break your heart with one hand but then lift your spirits higher than a kite.”—The Huffington Post
Review
“[Klams] smartest book yet…amusing, poignant…a rollicking must-read.”
—People
“The book you will want to give all your best friends, not as a nudge-nudge, hint-hint reminder of what it takes to be a good friend, but rather as a celebration of just how great friends can be. And if they (or you) pick up a few hints on how to be a good friend, so much the better for everyone. We all need reminding once in awhile that connection takes more than just showing up for drinks or a walk -- and Klam offers the reminders with her usual big heart, goofy humor, and open admissions.”
— The Huffington Post
“[Klam is] taking seriously something, namely adult friendships, that often turns into the wallpaper of cultural life: something that's there, and that's lovely, and that ideally you don't have to think about, but not something that you would delve into deeply.”
—NPR.org
“A smart read… with incisive one-liners and self-deprecating humor… Klam's warmth and wit is enough to keep this book light and engaging.”—USA Today
“Klam addresses real relationships and the raw problems of human life... [and] shares her personal, honest, funny, and poignant friend experiences”
—The Atlantic Wire
“A jolly, largehearted book…Julie Klam makes no claim to being a fancy expert. She has lived her expertise. Her own life is her source of knowledge… charming, nostalgic, informative.”
—The Washington Post
“These pages are strewn with nuggets of wisdom and witticism…[a] warm hearted book.”
—Dayton Daily News
“Klam's voice is often flat-out hilarious… [she] never fails to come up with terrific comic vignettes and sharp one-liners… highly entertaining.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Klam is funny. Not cute or amusing, but laugh-out-loud, borderline too-much-information funny… With Friendkeeping, Klam proves that she is no one-trick pony.”
—BookPage
“Julie Klam is one funny writer.” —David Rakoff, author of Dont Get Too Comfortable and Fraud
Review
and#8220;[Klamand#8217;s] smartest book yetand#8230;amusing, poignantand#8230;a rollicking must-read.and#8221;
and#8212;People
and#8220;The book you will want to give all your best friends, not as a nudge-nudge, hint-hint reminder of what it takes to be a good friend, but rather as a celebration of just how great friends can be. And if they (or you) pick up a few hints on how to be a good friend, so much the better for everyone. We all need reminding once in awhile that connection takes more than just showing up for drinks or a walk -- and Klam offers the reminders with her usual big heart, goofy humor, and open admissions.and#8221;
and#8212; The Huffington Post
and#8220;[Klam is] taking seriously something, namely adult friendships, that often turns into the wallpaper of cultural life: something that's there, and that's lovely, and that ideally you don't have to think about, but not something that you would delve into deeply.and#8221;
and#8212;NPR.org
and#8220;A smart readand#8230; with incisive one-liners and self-deprecating humorand#8230; Klam's warmth and wit is enough to keep this book light and engaging.and#8221;
and#8212;USA Today
and#8220;Klam addresses real relationships and the raw problems of human life... [and] shares her personal, honest, funny, and poignant friend experiencesand#8221;
and#8212;The Atlantic Wire
and#8220;A jolly, largehearted bookand#8230;Julie Klam makes no claim to being a fancy expert. She has lived her expertise. Her own life is her source of knowledgeand#8230; charming, nostalgic, informative.and#8221;
and#8212;The Washington Post
and#8220;These pages are strewn with nuggets of wisdom and witticismand#8230;[a] warm hearted book.and#8221;
and#8212;Dayton Daily News
and#8220;Klam's voice is often flat-out hilariousand#8230; [she] never fails to come up with terrific comic vignettes and sharp one-linersand#8230; highly entertaining.and#8221;
and#8212;Kirkus Reviews
and#8220;Klam is funny. Not cute or amusing, but laugh-out-loud, borderline too-much-information funnyand#8230; With Friendkeeping, Klam proves that she is no one-trick pony.and#8221;
and#8212;BookPage
and#8220;Julie Klam is one funny writer.and#8221; and#8212;David Rakoff, author of Donand#8217;t Get Too Comfortable and Fraud
Synopsis
A woman's hilarious, bittersweet account of growing up in a family of career-shunning, dependence-seeking women and her journey to a state of twenty-first-century self-reliance.
Julie Klam was raised as the only daughter of a Jewish family in the exclusive WASP stronghold of Bedford, New York. Her mother was sharp, glamorous, and funny, but did not think that work was a woman's responsibility. Her father was fully supportive, not just of his wife's staying at home, but also of her extravagant lifestyle. Her mother's offbeat parenting style-taking Julie out of school to go to lunch at Bloomingdale's, for example-made her feel well-cared-for (and well-dressed) but left her unprepared for graduating and entering the real world. She had been brought up to look pretty and wait for a rich man to sweep her off her feet. But what happened if he never showed up?
When Julie gets married to a hardworking but not wealthy man-one who expects her to be part of a modern couple and contribute financially to the marriage-she realizes how ambivalent and ill-equipped she is for life. Once she gives birth to a daughter, she knows she must grow up, get to work, and teach her child the self-reliance that she never learned.
Delivered in an uproariously funny, sweet, self-effacing, and utterly memorable voice, Please Excuse My Daughter is a bighearted memoir from an irresistible new writer.
Synopsis
This big-hearted memoir from an irresistible new writer is Klam's hilarious, bittersweet account of growing up in a family of career-shunning, dependence-seeking women and her journey to a state of 21st-century self-reliance.
Synopsis
In her bestselling memoir
You Had Me at Woof, Julie Klam shared the secrets of happiness she learned as an occasionally frazzled but always devoted owner of Boston terriers. Now, with the same enchanting humor and poignancy that won the hearts of readers across the country, she returns with real-life stories about how in rescuing troubled dogs we can end up saving ourselves.
With wit and warmth, Julie Klam chronicles her adventures in finding a home for the world’s sweetest pit bull, fostering a photogenic special-needs terrier, and diving under a train to save an injured stray in New Orleans. Along the way, she finds that helping dogs in their fight to survive puts our own problems in perspective, and shows that caring for others, be they canine or human, can sometimes be the best way to care for ourselves. A hilarious and moving testament to the powerful bond between people and dogs, this is a book for anyone whose life has been changed—for the better—by an animal.
Synopsis
In her bestselling memoir
You Had Me at Woof, Julie Klam shared the secrets of happiness she learned as an occasionally frazzled but always devoted owner of Boston terriers. Now, with the same enchanting humor and poignancy that won the hearts of readers across the country, she returns with real-life stories about how in rescuing troubled dogs we can end up saving ourselves.
With wit and warmth, Julie Klam chronicles her adventures in finding a home for the world’s sweetest pit bull, fostering a photogenic special-needs terrier, and diving under a train to save an injured stray in New Orleans. Along the way, she finds that helping dogs in their fight to survive puts our own problems in perspective, and shows that caring for others, be they canine or human, can sometimes be the best way to care for ourselves. A hilarious and moving testament to the powerful bond between people and dogs, this is a book for anyone whose life has been changed—for the better—by an animal.
Synopsis
From New York Times bestselling memoirist Julie Klam, a funny and affecting look at friendship in an age of isolation.
Facebook says you have hundreds of friends. So why can you name only two? Friendship today is more confusing than ever, and yet having someone to lean on and confide in is increasingly more important. Enter bestselling author Julie Klam, an expert on friendshipand#151;online and offand#151;if there ever was one.
With humor and warmth, Klam shares stories that get to the heart of modern friendships, drawing in particular on her relationships with her four closest friends. From the relative value of secrets to the comfort of a confidant, from exciting social media friends to the ones who come to your party or meet you for lunch or go with you to a horrible doctorand#8217;s appointment, Klam explores every facet of modern friendship and peppers her stories with suggestions on how to make the most of it, and when to walk away. The result is a guide to making and keeping friendships that can stand the test of time.
Delivered in Klamand#8217;s inimitable, disarmingly accessible, and uproariously funny voice, Friendkeeping is a tribute to the powerful bonds we have with our friends and the singular joy these relationships create in our lives.
and#160;
About the Author
Julie Klam grew up in Bedford, New York. After attending NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and interning at Late Night with David Letterman, she went on to write for such publications as O, The Oprah Magazine, Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and The New York Times Magazine and for the VH1 television show Pop-Up Video, where she earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Class Writing. She married the show's producer, Paul Leo. They live with their daughter and three dogs in Manhattan.