Highly readable ... Mamet’s vulnerable and empathetic essays will resonate with fans of Girls and readers struggling with self-worth, eating disorders, or mental illness.
Generally lovable, with several standout moments ... Funny and moving ... The more jaded will have read much on these topics in the past, but will join the fangirls in cheering when she delivers the satisfaction of also writing about finding a great love and a true best friend and, most distinctively, the hair-raising process of finding her place in the acting world ... The best essay in the book is the one nobody but her could write—about playing Shoshanna on Girls. It’s very close to the end, and contains some of the best descriptions of acting since Al Pacino’s Sonny Boy.
Intimate, funny, and sometimes harrowing ... There’s more heft here than in standard-issue showbiz memoirs: Mamet’s struggles with self-doubt and self-definition resonate, and her jokes land more like attempts at maintaining good humor in the face of a cruel world than pure silliness. This is a must for Girls fans, aspiring actors, and young women attempting to figure out who they are.
