It's Okay to Laugh: (Crying Is Cool Too)

It's a weird thing to look forward to picking up a book about a woman who lost two of the most important men in her life within weeks. (Especially when you're the type of person that avoids all books and movies that might make you think too hard about reality). It's even stranger to laugh at the author's retelling of a scene at her father’s deathbed. It's weird to say a book about navigating the loss of loved ones is delightful and a breath of fresh air but it is. It's honest. Nora's book tells a kind of real story that makes you say "Ok life, we may not always get along but let's do this!". This book: - Is funny (Gosh darn it! It's funny!) - Life affirming (not joking here, makes me grateful to be alive and to have my far-from-perfect family and friends) - Hopeful - Reads like short stories so you can move through it in short bursts (I'd binge read it but I want to savor it and I'd cry too much at one time) I'm enjoying it as much as I enjoyed Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and I hope to learn as much from Nora’s book as I did from Anne’s.

The book matched my expectations and was easy to read. I’ve purchased from this seller before and once again everything went smoothly. The item was well packaged and arrived on time. I would definitely recommend this seller.

This book was great. Nora McInerny wrote so well I found myself going from on the verge to crying, to completely laughing, sometimes experiencing both on the same page. She is one of the most relatable writers. I also appreciated how Nora acknowledged her privilege as a wealthy, white female. While she was transparent and authentic, she was able to realize that most of her life experiences were due to her privilege. Yet at the same time, she acknowledged that cancer and miscarriage do not discriminate, and she has had her fair share of trials. Great read for some wonderful perspective. Would recommend as self-help, beach read, or just a pick me up.

I just read two back-to-back memoirs written by two women who experienced profound loss but managed to write about their experiences with humor and such thoughtfulness at the same time. How do they do it. I cannot even imagine. Clearly, Nora McInerny Purmort, the author of IT’S OK TO LAUGH: (CRYING IS COOL TOO) is one smart (and funny) lady as she not only shares the intimate details of her husband’s death due to brain cancer, just months after her father passed away, and as if that weren’t enough, she has just suffered a miscarriage. She is young, her marriage was young, she has a loving, supportive family and a baby as well. She copes on some days and not so much on others. She talks about the raw truth about how she winces when friends betray her because they simply can’t deal with illness and others who rally to help. I learned so much from Purmort. About what it means to do what you need to do. How to treat others in their time of need, as while I have been there, clearly not in her same situation, and now looking back, I am not proud of how I might have handled other’s grief before I truly understood it or experienced it myself. Maybe I was one of those friends who turned away for fear of hospitals or how to handle the dark times. There are things that we hear others say that are so inappropriate and just not comforting. She writes about the things people say in these dark times and when you read them, it is laughable, but if you were on the receiving end, not so much. Chapter 37 is everything. This is not a book about death. It is a book filled with love and great humor, keen observations, an openness that is refreshing. To Nora, I say I am sorry for that you no longer have your kind father who loved you in the sweetest of ways. I know it hurts big time, that the love of your life was taken from you, there are no words. I am also sorry for the baby that you lost who never got to meet the incredible parents that he/she would have had.

This book is awesome to say the least. I followed Nora on Tumblr, one because I'm an xray tech and her photo was the MRI of Aaron's tumor and so it caught my eye and two, because her writing was so down to earth/real life and it was interesting to follow along. Nora is one of those people that you can totally relate to when you were growing up and all of the awkward, ridiculous things we did/do as girls! Now Nora is one of those people that I would love to hang out with as an adult :) While I'm pretty sure that won't be happening anytime soon, reading her book was a tear jerker at times and then others I was laughing out loud, but it made you feel like she was sitting across a table sharing a coffee with you. I just noticed that she is now going to have a podcast called "Terrible, Thanks for Asking" which if you read her book you totally understand why that is the name. I hurried up and subscribed to it before even listening to the 4 minute promo and I'm glad I did. Can November hurry up and get here already??? Bottom line: read this book and subscribe to the podcast! You won't be disappointed......

Nora's voice is raw, real, and imbued with compassion, kindness, and a wicked sense of humor. The result is a crazy-honest book that is an up-close, unflinching look at love and grief and what remains after surviving an incredible amount of loss. You will fall in love with Aaron with her. You will grieve with her. You will laugh with her. You will cringe with her. Prepare to sob and snort-laugh simultaneously, and to set aside whatever tasks you have at hand (like, in my case, parenting) so that you can read it straight through. This book is essential reading.

It's well written, surely. The grief Nora experienced is immeasurable. She is humorous for the most part but I found the tales from adolescence to be a little unnecessary, at times uncomfortable. All in all it's a good book about grief and dealing with the loss of a loved one. It's 'all over the place' but somehow she makes that work. Really disappointing line/joke about the potential financial collapse of our nation - I almost stopped reading after that line. Nora is a gifted writer and definitely had a front seat on the highway to hell.

I just finished this book and I LOVED it. I have been following Nora on FB and instagram for quite some time and have come to admire her from afar. I am NOT a writer, never will be, but I hope if I ever have any real sh*t to talk about in my life, that I could do so as awesomely as Nora does. I love how REAL she is and how she can put all the feelings into words that mean so much. So- even if you don't know Nora, and don't own an unhealthy amount of Kelly Green shirts, (like me!) or can't sympathize with having a dead husband or father,(thankfully not me)... still- give this book a try. It is FUNNY and SAD and REAL and worth your $16