And now a list of my gay teachers:
Dave Becky and Stephanie Davis at 3 Arts, John Glavin, Rajeev Nath, Anaheed Alani, Michael Kavanagh, David Rosenthal, Peter Saraf, Mark Turtletaub, Maggie Kemper, Sean Conroy, Ivan and the late Miss Lucy, Lynn Shawcroft, Andrew Secunda, Catherine Burns, Barry Tyerman, Jamie Mendelbaum and Andy Galker, Marysue Rucci, AJ Jacobs, Michael Cogliantry. At S&S: Aileen Boyle and Tracey Guest. Thanks to all my friends at APA, UTA, The Moth, The Bob and Tom Show, and Comedy Central. Eli Gonda, Jeff Thom, and the Sleepwalk with Me crew; Joy Behar and The View; Mike Lavoie and James Fauvell; Ira Glass and the staff of This American Life; Nathan Lane; Patti and Gina; and Mike Berkowitz, who convinced me to write this book.
A very special thanks to: Seth Barrish, Joe Birbiglia, Sarah Hochman—without you this book would not have been possible.
And Jenny the arctic fox. Without whom I would have no inspiration.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mike Birbiglia is an actor, comedian, and storyteller. His critically acclaimed 2009 off-Broadway show, Sleepwalk with Me, was presented by Nathan Lane and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Solo Performance. He has appeared in three solo Comedy Central Specials, including “What I Should Have Said Was Nothing.” He has also recorded two albums with Comedy Central Records, Two Drink Mike and My Secret Public Journal Live. In addition to touring colleges and concert halls nationwide, Birbiglia appears regularly on The Late Show with David Letterman. He is a regular contributor on This American Life, The Moth Radio Hour and The Bob & Tom Show. Birbiglia lives in a fourth floor apartment with a broken elevator in New York City with his wife, Jenny. This is his first book.
THESE PEOPLE ALSO
HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING
SLEEPWALK WITH ME
“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, Prominent Comedic Person
“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
“Thank God for Mike Birbiglia and his sleep disorders. They have given us an immensely funny and poignant book about love, comedy, and pizza (among other things). Ignore him at your own risk.”
—A. J. Jacobs, author of My Life as an Experiment
“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!
“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
“Sleepwalk with Me is a delightful stroll into the charming, intelligent, and accessible mind of Mike Birbiglia.”
—Kristen Schaal, comedienne and costar of
Flight of the Conchords
“Mike Birbiglia might be the best comedian of our generation: smart, honest, and always painfully funny. He’s the Rembrandt of awkwardness.”
—Michael Ian Black, author of My Custom Van
“I was terrified by how much I related to Mike Birbiglia’s stomach-churning, embarrassing stories of childhood, sex, and more. With writing that is fresh, starkly direct, and all his own, he exposes his real-life experiences—from the mundane to the extraordinary—in ways that made me laugh out loud at every page. So much fun to read . . . just be ready to cringe in self-recognition.”
—David Wain, writer/director of Role Models,
Wet Hot American Summer, and The State
“Sleepwalk with Me is not your typical comedian-writes-book book. It’s something else. It’s laugh-out-loud funny from beginning to end, and it’s a truly fascinating and bizarre story about a guy with a very real and a very unique problem. It completely blew me away.”
—Michael Showalter, host of Michael Showalter Showalter
and author of Mr. Funny Pants
“Mike is my favorite kind of hero in his stories: always self-aware, usually awkward, sometimes sad, but never cynical or bitter. The truths he unpacks from his life ring like a bell.”
—Adam Savage, co-host of Discovery’s MythBusters
“Sleepwalk with Me is an amazing read—funny, insightful, heartbreaking, uplifting, terrifying at times, and very, very funny. Yeah, I said funny twice, but that’s because it’s really funny.”
—Will Forte, writer and cast member,
Saturday Night Live
“Birbiglia’s ability to translate this singular comic persona into seamless, Pringles-addictive prose is a radical achievement. You will want to play in Mike’s childhood home, experience his delayed adolescence, and walk lucid through his dreams.”
—Lena Dunham, writer and director of Tiny Furniture
“Mike Birbiglia’s crafted a genuine rarity—a boisterous book you want to listen to, quietly.”
—Patton Oswalt, author of Zombie Spaceship Wasteland
“Mike Birbiglia should be particularly commended on his sleepwalking story, which is most responsibly written, turning a non-funny situation into one of hilarity, and legitimizing such occasionally injurious behaviors as a normal part of human existence unrelated to psychiatric disorders.”
—Mark Mahowald, M.D., coauthor of Parasomnias
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