Ann Leary

New York Times bestselling author Ann Leary offers a literary feast of humor and wisdom told from the perspective of a recovering people pleaser.

Having arrived at a certain age (her prime), Ann Leary casts a wry backward glance at a life spent trying—and often failing—to be nice. With wit and surprising candor, Leary recounts the bedlam of home bat invasions, an obsession with online personality tests, and the mortification of taking ballroom dance lessons with her actor husband (Denis Leary). She describes hilarious red-carpet fiascos and other observations from the sidelines of fame, while also touching upon her more poignant struggles with alcoholism, her love for her family, her dogs, and so much more. 

Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe, and revel in the comically relatable chaos of Ann Leary’s life as revealed in this delightful collection of essays.

Ann Leary is the New York Times bestselling author of a memoir and four novels, including The Good House, which was adapted as a motion picture starring Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages, and she has written for The New York Times, Ploughshares, NPR, Redbook, and Real Simple, among other publications. Her essay, “Rallying to Keep the Game Alive,” was adapted for Prime Video’s television series Modern Love. She lives with her husband in New York.  

Laura Zigman is the author of Small World, Separation Anxiety, Animal Husbandry, Dating Big Bird, Her, and Piece of Work. She has been a contributor to the New York Times and the Washington Post and was the recipient of a Yaddo residency. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.