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Attempting Normal

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Attempting Normal

By: Marc Maron
Narrated by: Marc Maron
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Summary

 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

People make a mess.
 
Marc Maron was a parent-scarred, angst-filled, drug-dabbling, love-starved comedian who dreamed of a simple life: a wife, a home, a sitcom to call his own. But instead he woke up one day to find himself fired from his radio job, surrounded by feral cats, and emotionally and financially annihilated by a divorce from a woman he thought he loved. He tried to heal his broken heart through whatever means he could find—minor-league hoarding, Viagra addiction, accidental racial profiling, cat fancying, flying airplanes with his mind—but nothing seemed to work. It was only when he was stripped down to nothing that he found his way back.
 
Attempting Normal is Marc Maron’s journey through the wilderness of his own mind, a collection of explosively, painfully, addictively funny stories that add up to a moving tale of hope and hopelessness, of failing, flailing, and finding a way. From standup to television to his outrageously popular podcast, WTF with Marc Maron, Marc has always been a genuine original, a disarmingly honest, intensely smart, brutally open comic who finds wisdom in the strangest places. This is his story of the winding, potholed road from madness and obsession and failure to something like normal, the thrillingly comic journey of a sympathetic f***up who’s trying really hard to do better without making a bigger mess. Most of us will relate.

Praise for Attempting Normal
 
“I laughed so hard reading this book.”—David Sedaris
 
“Funny . . . surprisingly deep . . . laced with revelatory insights.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“Superb . . . A reason that [it] is a superior example of an overcrowded genre—the comedian memoir—is Mr. Maron’s hardheaded approach to his history, the wisdom of experience.”—The New York Times
 
“Marc Maron is a legend because he is both a great comic and a brilliant mind. Attempting Normal is a deep, hilarious megashot of feeling and truth as only this man can administer.”—Sam Lipsyte
  
Praise for Marc Maron and WTF
 
“The stuff of comedy legend.”—Rolling Stone 
 
“Marc Maron is a startlingly honest, compelling, and hilarious comedian-poet. Truly one of the greatest of all time.”—Louis C.K.
 
“I’ve known Marc for years and I can tell you first hand that he’s passionate, fearless, honest, self-absorbed, neurotic, and screamingly funny.”—David Cross
 
“Revered among his peers . . . raw and unflinchingly honest.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Devastatingly funny.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“For a comedy nerd, this show is nirvana.”—Judd Apatow Entertainment & Celebrities Performing Arts Celebrity Comedy Funny Heartfelt Witty Cats
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Critic reviews

Praise for Attempting Normal

“I laughed so hard reading this book.”—David Sedaris

“Funny . . . surprisingly deep . . . laced with revelatory insights.”—Los Angeles Times

“Superb . . . A reason that [it] is a superior example of an overcrowded genre—the comedian memoir—is Mr. Maron’s hardheaded approach to his history, the wisdom of experience.”—The New York Times

“Marc Maron is a legend because he is both a great comic and a brilliant mind. Attempting Normal is a deep, hilarious megashot of feeling and truth as only this man can administer.”—Sam Lipsyte

Praise for Marc Maron and WTF

“The stuff of comedy legend.”—Rolling Stone

“Marc Maron is a startlingly honest, compelling, and hilarious comedian-poet. Truly one of the greatest of all time.”—Louis C.K.

“I’ve known Marc for years and I can tell you first hand that he’s passionate, fearless, honest, self-absorbed, neurotic, and screamingly funny.”—David Cross

“Revered among his peers . . . raw and unflinchingly honest.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Devastatingly funny.”—Los Angeles Times

“For a comedy nerd, this show is nirvana.”—Judd Apatow
All stars
Most relevant
A very funny,clever, witty insecure and insightful man who made me laugh loud out. The fact that he likes cats gives him an added appeal in my view and his (presumably) honest portrayal of his love life was a joy...in parts. I had never heard of him previously but would certainly buy any further books he writes. Highly recommended

loved it

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Yes Marc, we're good. Listen if you like Marc, existential angst, cocaine regret and feral cats.

Are we good?

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Brilliant deadpan wit, I don't know how he manages to get across such relevant points about humanity by sounding so exasperated and making it funny at the same time. A lot of contradictions in there for me which make him unique; hopeful yet delivered with a gallows humour …. and maybe a touch of neurosis too. I loved his TV show too - but can't seem to be able to stream the 4th season anywhere. I suppose that's the TV execs and the people at the network which he has so much time for.

Sardonic Wisdom

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I'm a huge Marc Marron fan.. So the fact I loved this book, that was written and narrated by him, probably isn't a huge surprise. Bottom line, if you like Marc, his podcast, his standup, his TV show, you'll like this book.

I'm a fan...

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Would you consider the audio edition of Attempting Normal to be better than the print version?

Not read print version but his voice and delivery add so much so I'd guess it was better.

What did you like best about this story?

Honesty and his usual no nonsense approach to story telling.

What does Marc Maron bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Pace and delivery of story was excellent. Brings to life his pain and makes the more awkward parts even more awkward.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

His relationship break-down and ex-wife stories. Hilarious and brutally honest.

Acerbic and at his brilliant best.

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