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Start giftingSurvival of the Thickest
Essays
Bookseller recommendation
“I had seen Michelle's stand up on Netflix and her special had become one of my favorites. When I saw she had written a collection of essays, I couldn't wait to begin reading. I couldn't be happier that I choose the audio version! Buteau reads with such emotion and enthusiasm it doesn't feel like a book at all but rather a podcast or long stand up set. I found myself deep belly laughing or heaving gut wrenching sobs through a variety of relatable topics. An absolute delight!”
Leslie,
A Likely Story
Bookseller recommendation
“I listened to this on my commute and it felt like, hilarious comedian, Michelle Buteau was hanging out with me in my passenger seat. What I liked was that, like everyone, she has insecurities (especially as a mixed-race plus-size woman in our society) but she doesn't dwell on them and then fully embodies confidence, not cockiness and not in a ra-ra-bumper-sticker way. If you need a good laugh, if you need something relatable that easily switches to unrelatable in the best way possible, if you need a friend, listen to this audiobook. Essays range from her early years in comedy to bumbling hookups that led to her Dutch husband to 9/11 and trying to get pregnant via IVF. I always prefer listening to comedians because their personalities really come through and Buteau has personality in spades.”
Emily,
Third Place Books
*Soon to be a comedy series on Netflix!*
From the stand-up comedian, actress, and host beloved for her cheeky swagger, unique voice, and unapologetic frankness comes a book of “zesty and hilarious” (Publishers Weekly) essays for fans of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling and We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union.
If you’ve watched television or movies in the past couple of years, you’ve seen Michelle Buteau. With scene-stealing roles in Always Be My Maybe, First Wives Club, Someone Great, Russian Doll, and Tales of the City; a reality TV show and breakthrough stand-up specials, including her headlining show Welcome to Buteaupia on Netflix; and two podcasts (Late Night Whenever and Adulting), Michelle’s star is on the rise. You’d be forgiven for thinking the road to success—or adulthood or financial stability or self-acceptance or marriage or motherhood—has been easy, but you’d be wrong.
Now, in Survival of the Thickest, Michelle reflects on growing up Caribbean, Catholic, and thick in New Jersey, going to college in Miami (where everyone smells like pineapple), her many friendship and dating disasters, working as a newsroom editor during 9/11, getting started in stand-up opening for male strippers, marrying into her husband’s Dutch family, IVF and surrogacy, motherhood, chosen family, and what it feels like to have a full heart, tight jeans, and stardom finally in her grasp.
Michelle Buteau is a comedian, actress, and host known for her roles in The Circle, Always Be My Maybe, First Wives Club, Someone Great, Russian Doll, and Tales of the City, as well as her stand-up specials, including Welcome to Buteaupia, on Netflix and Comedy Central. She has been named one of the ten comedians to watch by Esquire and her podcast, Late Night Whenever, was listed among the best of the year by Time. Michelle lives in the Bronx with her husband and family. She and her husband also run Van der Most Modern, a vintage furniture store in Brooklyn.
Michelle Buteau is a comedian, actress, and host known for her roles in The Circle, Always Be My Maybe, First Wives Club, Someone Great, Russian Doll, and Tales of the City, as well as her stand-up specials, including Welcome to Buteaupia, on Netflix and Comedy Central. She has been named one of the ten comedians to watch by Esquire and her podcast, Late Night Whenever, was listed among the best of the year by Time. Michelle lives in the Bronx with her husband and family. She and her husband also run Van der Most Modern, a vintage furniture store in Brooklyn.