Not That Kind of Girl

""If I could take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile. I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you, but also my future glory in having stopped you from trying an expensive juice cleanse or thinking that it was your fault when the person you are dating suddenly backs away, intimidated by the clarity of your personal mission here on earth. No, I am not a sexpert, a psychologist or a dietician. I am not a mother of three or the owner of a successful hosiery franchise. But I am a girl with a keen interest in having it all, and what follows are hopeful dispatches from the frontlines of that struggle.""--

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY...

For readers of Nora Ephron, Tina Fey, and David Sedaris, this hilarious, poignant, and extremely frank collection of personal essays confirms Lena Dunham - the acclaimed creator, producer, and star of HBO's 'Girls' - as one of the brightest and most original writers working today."If I could take what I've learned and make one menial job easier for you, or prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away during the act, then every misstep of mine was worthwhile. I'm already predicting my future shame at thinking I had anything to offer you, but also my future glory in having stopped you from trying an expensive juice cleanse or thinking that it was your fault when the person you are dating suddenly backs away, intimidated by the clarity of your personal mission here on earth. No, I am not a sexpert, a psychologist, or a dietician. I am not a mother of three or the owner of a successful hosiery franchise. But I am a girl with a keen interest in having it all, and what follows are hopeful dispatches from the frontlines of that struggle."

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLER'Typically exposing, brilliantly written' VOGUE'Its quick hits of wit are like sniffs from an oxygen mask' NEW YORK TIMES'Few people are willing to be as human as Lena Dunham' OBSERVER'A generational voice' FINANCIAL TIMESIn this rowdy, frank reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between, the remarkable mind behind the hit series Girlsand the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girlasks whether fulfilling her creative ambitions has been worth the pain.For the last decade, as she's spent countless hours in doctor's waiting rooms searching for diagnoses, treatments, and relief, being the owner and operator of Lena Dunham's body has felt, as she puts it, 'like towing a wrecked car across town at midnight.' It's not easy dragging a wrecked car anywhere, much less to the Met Gala while sewn into a gold lamé corset. Or to the set of the hit show that you - as a twenty-five-year-old - are writing, directing, producing, and starring in. Or to the White House, the Golden Globes, or your publicist's office to discuss the latest internet disaster. But Dunham does it - even if it means interminable hospital stays, vomiting in the bathroom when she's meant to be meeting Oprah, or terrifying those closest to her - because she can no longer tell the difference between fighting to do what she loves and being a servant to her own ambition. All the while, she is holding out for a love that can withstand her personal and public challenges and, more than anything, yearning to feel like herself again - if only she could remember who that self was.As Dunham takes us through her journey, tracking her rise to fame - from selling the pilot of Girlsto the present - in three acts, it becomes clear that the spotlight casts long shadows, distorting the relationships she once held dear and isolating everyone in its glare. When an endless supply of drugs can't protect you from pain - and begins to control your every move - being famous doesn't stand a chance against the darker corners of the human experience.In Famesick, Dunham asks herself what the cost of fulfilling her dreams has really been, and whether it was worth it. What she finds is deeper than physical relief, and more lasting, as she learns to live with what she can't change and turn her regrets into wisdom that can carry her forward, as she reconnects to what, and who, she loves.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLER'Typically exposing, brilliantly written' VOGUE'Its quick hits of wit are like sniffs from an oxygen mask' NEW YORK TIMES'Few people are willing to be as human as Lena Dunham' OBSERVER'A generational voice' FINANCIAL TIMESIn this rowdy, frank reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between, the remarkable mind behind the hit series Girlsand the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girlasks whether fulfilling her creative ambitions has been worth the pain.For the last decade, as she's spent countless hours in doctor's waiting rooms searching for diagnoses, treatments, and relief, being the owner and operator of Lena Dunham's body has felt, as she puts it, 'like towing a wrecked car across town at midnight.' It's not easy dragging a wrecked car anywhere, much less to the Met Gala while sewn into a gold lamé corset. Or to the set of the hit show that you - as a twenty-five-year-old - are writing, directing, producing, and starring in. Or to the White House, the Golden Globes, or your publicist's office to discuss the latest internet disaster. But Dunham does it - even if it means interminable hospital stays, vomiting in the bathroom when she's meant to be meeting Oprah, or terrifying those closest to her - because she can no longer tell the difference between fighting to do what she loves and being a servant to her own ambition. All the while, she is holding out for a love that can withstand her personal and public challenges and, more than anything, yearning to feel like herself again - if only she could remember who that self was.As Dunham takes us through her journey, tracking her rise to fame - from selling the pilot of Girlsto the present - in three acts, it becomes clear that the spotlight casts long shadows, distorting the relationships she once held dear and isolating everyone in its glare. When an endless supply of drugs can't protect you from pain - and begins to control your every move - being famous doesn't stand a chance against the darker corners of the human experience.In Famesick, Dunham asks herself what the cost of fulfilling her dreams has really been, and whether it was worth it. What she finds is deeper than physical relief, and more lasting, as she learns to live with what she can't change and turn her regrets into wisdom that can carry her forward, as she reconnects to what, and who, she loves.