ADULTING FOR AMATEURS - Jess H. Gutierrez

I don't read as many essay collections as I'd like. There was a time when I read a lot of essay collections (David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs, Bill Bryson, Nick Hornby, Steve Almond, et al) but I've fallen away from it. If I'm not reading an essay for educational purposes (for instance, I have enjoyed The Best American Science and Nature Writing collections that appear annually), then I'm probably looking for something reflective of human nature, preferably humorous and relatable. That last word is key. 

"Relatable." 

I began to feel less and less able to relate to David Sedaris's work; so, too, Burroughs. They're both talented and well-deserving of their followings, but they didn't really speak to me. And the humorists sometimes try too hard to be funny or spend an entire essay setting up one joke. And yet, I keep trying, keep reading essays, and keep looking for 'new' authors to try.

Adulting for Amateurs just had a ring to it that appealed to me. I've supposedly been an adult for more than four decades, and yet yeah, I still feel like an amateur at it. Will I ever get it right? And ... sorry Jess Gutierrez ... I'd never heard of the author, but that doesn't mean anything to me. 

Honestly, I came VERY close to putting the book away and letting the publisher know that I wouldn't be reading the book and writing any review. The first couple of essays "Same, Girl. Same." and "Garage Sale Gold Mine" didn't really speak to me - a sexagenarian male. Not being female, not being (any longer) in my forties, and not being gay, I thought Jess Gutierrez wasn't going to be for me. 

But I stuck with her and as she wrote less specifically about topics I couldn't relate to, I enjoyed her more. Although I don't recall her writing when she recognized or admitted she was gay, she does write about some of her (failed?) heterosexual encounters, often with humorous results ("Ill-Fated Fellatio" and "Highfalutin Phallus" pretty much tells you know what's about to be discussed).

And while I can't quite identify with "Vampire Fangirl" specifically, I can relate to youthful fan sexualization of certain stars or icons. 

I've got a couple of decades on Gutierrez, but I'm not so old and doddering that I don't remember the challenges of child-rearing and the recognition of getting (or appearing) old all of a sudden (and yeah, it did seem sudden, darn it). The essays "In My Aging Era" and "The Best Worst Days" capture some very universal reflections on getting old. 

"A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity" is something maybe a only a married couple can identify with. It's an anything-but-sexy sex conversation that's gross and funny at the same time. Same goes for "In Sickness and in Sweatpants."

The (sagging) bottom line is that I enjoyed these essays. Fun and funny, they often had me nodding my head, recognizing the universality of being an adult. I don't think Jess Gutierrez and I are particularly similar, but what makes us (old) humans, isn't different at all.

I'd like to note that Gutierrez's Acknowledgements reads much like an essay itself - fun and funny. If you don't typically read acknowledgements, first, you should, but second, read this one. 

Looking for a good book? Do you feel like being an adult is hard? That nobody gets you or your troubles? I've got news for you, Jess H. Gutierrez understands and writes about it in her collection of essays, Adulting for Amateurs.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Adulting for Amateurs: Misadventures of a Geriatric Millennial

author: Jess H. Gutierrez

publisher: Tiny Reparations Books

ISBN:  9780593854891

hardcover, 304 pages 

 

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