Cool, Calm & Contentious (ePub)

"This is so well written. [When a book like this] comes along, it's, like, 'Thank you!' What a great way to spend an afternoon, an evening, reading these essays. . . . Absolutely great."-Jon Stewart

"[Merrill] Markoe is easily as funny as David Sedaris. She's capable of manic riffs and acerbic skewering. Still, her good nature shines through."-The Washington Post

In this hilarious collection of candid essays, including two pieces new to this edition, New York Times bestselling author Merrill Markoe reveals much about her personal life-as well as the secret formula for comedy: Start out with a difficult mother, develop some classic teenage insecurities, add a few relationships with narcissistic men, toss in an unruly pack of selfish dogs, finish it off with the kind of crystalline perspective that only comes from years of navigating a roiling sea of unpleasant and unappeasable people, and-voilà-you're funny! Cool, Calm & Contentious is honest, unapologetic, sometimes heartbreaking, but always shot through with Merrill Markoe's biting, bracing wit.

"This has been a great year for funny women. . . . Let's call Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling exhibits A and B. Both owe a debt to those who came before, including Merrill Markoe."-The Boston Globe

"Markoe's goal is to find the absurdity in everyday life. That, coupled with her sharp wit, makes her writing sublime."-BookPage

"Laugh-out-loud humor."-Tampa Bay Times

"Not only crazy-funny, but crazy-heartbreaking."-The New York Times