I Shouldn't Be Telling You This: (But I'm Going to Anyway)

by Chelsea Devantez Narrated by Chelsea Devantez

Overview

"It's f*cking great!!! Raw, intimate, hilarious, actually inspiring.” -Jon Stewart

A dynamic memoir-in-essays by comedian, screenwriter, and podcaster Chelsea Devantez, detailing her tumultuous upbringing and uproarious career path into Hollywood,*featuring a bonus chapter exclusive to the audio edition.

There are things Chelsea Devantez probably shouldn't be telling you. Many of them are in this book: some are embarrassing (like when she tried to break her three year spell of celibacy using a guide of seduction tips). Some are confessional (getting sentenced to the “hell hill” at Mormon church camp). Some are TMI (a series of outrageous doctor visits that ended with one doctor misdiagnosing her as “pregnant.” Woopsies!).

Then there are things Chelsea really shouldn't be telling you: like the time her biggest family secret was publicly outed, or about the drive-by shootings and the precipitating domestic violence she survived. Yet through it all, it's the women in Chelsea's life who kept her going - from the lowest points of her childhood when she and her mom had only $100 left to their name, all the way to her career highs as the Emmy-nominated Head Writer for The Problem with Jon Stewart and sensational podcaster deemed “the celebrity memoir whisperer” by her fans.*

In*I Shouldn't Be Telling You This,*Chelsea centers each story around a different woman who shaped her life, taking us on a tour of friends and strangers, fictional characters and celebrities, heroes and villains who will destroy any Netflix algorithm for a “strong female lead.” Reading it will feel kinda like that moment at a party when your friend beckons you close, sloshes her martini around, and covertly whispers, “I really shouldn't say this, but...”

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"It’s fucking great. She didn’t tell me it was gonna be fucking great!!! Figured… some cute essays… anecdotes… holy shit, though. Raw, intimate, hilarious, actually inspiring… what the fuck! Her upbringing reads like Flannery O’Connor or some shit!" –JON STEWART

“Finished it in a single night. Funny, authentic, and unique. Love!” –JENNY LAWSON, bestselling author of Broken (In the Best Possible Way)

“I Shouldn't Be Telling You This is a hilariously honest look at the real life of a person who is frigging out of control. This book is so jam-packed full of truths and unbelievable events that I swear to god it should be eight movies. Her story is incredibly moving and encouraging. It will make you feel more connected to women everywhere as you laugh your butt off.” –AMBER RUFFIN, actress, comedian, host of The Amber Ruffin Show, and bestselling author of You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey

“This book is raw, insightful, and really fucking funny. It’s full of accidental life lessons, and stories so relatable that at times you’ll feel like you are reading your own diary—if your diary got punched up by a professional comic. This book will save you so much money on therapy, as you get to benefit from Chelsea’s second hand (but if you relate to it too much, you should probably also go to therapy).” –ASHLEY NICOLE BLACK, Emmy-award winning writer for Apple TV+ 's Ted Lasso

"Incisive and witty. She has a brilliant command of tone and delivers an emotional punch alongside the laughs. A rich, thoughtful, laugh-out-loud memoir, Devantez’s debut is a book to devour in one sitting."—Booklist, starred review

"Devantez excels at exploring the interiority of her mind while conjuring a colorful cast of characters." —BookPage

“Funny, sad, overwhelming, and full of good intentions and sound advice.” —Kirkus Reviews


"Energetic and revealing, this title will surely please Devantez’s listeners and fans. Aficionados of tragicomic, gossip-tinged memoirs will like it too."—Library Journal

Library Journal

05/01/2024

Comedian and Emmy Award-nominated TV writer Devantez has spent plenty of time dissecting celebrity-penned memoirs on her podcast, Glamorous Trash. Now, in presenting her own, she offers up a self-aware series of essays. Many center on the women in Devantez's life: her mother, godmother, best friends, former friends, idols, and rivals. Some detail the messy absurdities of her upbringing, the conflicts within her family and other relationships, and her long road hammering out a career in comedy. There are humorous parts, of course, but plenty of raw emotion as well. The opening and closing chapters are of particular note; the initial drafts recounted her traumatic experience of domestic violence and stalking, but she learned that, for legal reasons, she could not include the content. Rather than fully cut the material, however, she's redacted specific details and left hints of the story. VERDICT Energetic and revealing, this title will surely please Devantez's listeners and fans. Aficionados of tragicomic, gossip-tinged memoirs will like it too.—Kathleen McCallister

Kirkus Reviews

2024-04-20
How a young woman with the odds stacked against her built a life of creativity and love, with her sense of humor as antidote, superpower, and best revenge.

In loose essays revolving around the women in her life—her mother and godmother, close friends, celebrity role models, colleagues in the comedy business, etc.—Devantez wisecracks and trash-talks her way through her autobiography. Her story begins in poverty and under the thumb of her mother's bad choices in men—"Limoncello," who she believed was her biological father, and "Bubba," the river-rafting guide who replaced him; zigzags through her coming-of-age as a writer and performer in New York and Chicago; and ends with a heartwarming nuptial event including numerous bad-ass bridesmaids and a "Museum of Us" with mannequins wearing the clothes from the couple's first date. The author provides useful lessons on how to throw a fun wedding, survive a toxic friendship, deal with finding out you were fathered by a sperm donor; and navigate the complex and often confining hoops of a career in comedy. Several blurbers use the word raw, including her former boss, Jon Stewart (her writing for him was Emmy nominated), and they mean the good kind of raw: in your face, edgy, vulnerable. However, the narrative is also the other kind: undercooked. Without chronological order, the overall sense of story and momentum are less powerful than they should be, and more vigorous streamlining would have improved the text. What the author characterizes as the most important story, a "Big Scary Domestic Violence Thing," is redacted, apparently for legal reasons, throughout the essay—frustrating for the author and readers alike. Devantez loves celebrity memoir, hosting a Glamorous Trash podcast on this topic; her listeners will eat this book up just as it is.

Funny, sad, overwhelming, and full of good intentions and sound advice.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160591346
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/04/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	995,621

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