Okay Fine Whatever: The Year I Went from Being Afraid of Everything to Only Being Afraid of Most Things

Description

The story of one chronically anxious woman's hilarious year-long quest to change her own timid nature by seeking out the kinds of experiences she's spent her life avoiding. During the nine years Courtenay Hameister hosted NPR's Live Wire, she lived in a state of near-constant dread and anxiety, and she didn't just fret about and fear her next radio show; she fretted about and feared everything. Until about a year ago, when she decided to take arms against a sea of anxieties and by opposing... maybe not end them, but at least become a little more adventurous, spontaneous, and comfortable in her own skin. OKAY FINE WHATEVER tells the story of Courtenay's year-long fight against her own nature, which took the form of pushing herself to try new things, things that scared her or made her uncomfortable, things that the average person might consider doing for a half-a-second before deciding: "nope." Things like: attending a fellatio class. She did that. She also spent an afternoon in a flotation tank, visited a sex club, went on 28 first dates, and got hypnotized. She had a session with a professional cuddler. She got high (legally) in the middle of a workday. And she came away with a lot of amusing and occasionally poignant stories about her adventures on the front lines of Mere Human Woman v. Fear. Refreshing, relatable, and very funny, OKAY FINE WHATEVER reminds us that "the tiniest amount of bravery is still bravery," and that it's possible to fight complacency and grow bolder a little at a time.

Courtenay Hameister is a professional nervous person. During her 12 years as host and head writer for Live Wire, a nationally-syndicated public radio show, she interviewed over 500 intimidating people and wrote 200 personal essays in bursts of anxiety-fueled inspiration at midnight the night before each show. Her work has also been featured in McSweeney's, APM's Marketplace, More Magazine and some scathing emails to the customer service department at Macy's.

A witty, wise call-to-arms for the anxiety-ridden in a period when we're more anxious than ever. A timely book for these end-of-times times.--John Hodgman, New York Times bestsellingauthor of Vacationland Courtenay deftly executes one of the most difficult feats for a writer: she makes the smallest moments vivid, meaningful, and laugh-out-loud funny. You'll be rooting for her the whole way, and she'll surprise you at every turn with her fortitude, her sparkling feats of fearlessness preserved in riotous detail, and her joie de anxiety.--Annabelle Gurwitch, New York Times bestselling author of Wherever You Go, There They Are and I See YouMade an Effort Courtenay Hameister is one of the funniest, sharpest writers I know. Her work is confessional, witty, and laugh-out-loud hilarious. I love her.--Chelsea Cain, New York Times bestselling author of Heartsick and One Kick Courtenay Hameister wrote the following sentence and for this sentence alone she should be world famous: 'Like the snowflake of the genital world, no two vaginas are ever alike.' Her stories are honest, funny and touching. I love her work and so will you.--MikeSacks, author of Poking a Dead Frog: Conversations with Today's Top ComedyWriters Courtenay Hameister's frank, hilarious chronicle of facing her fears promises hope and laughs while staying real.--Paste (The 10 Best Books of July 2018) Hameister details her experiences with brutal honesty and sidesplitting hilarity...Okay Fine Whatever manages expertly to blend adventure, romance, mental illness and an extra helping of humor for an entertaining memoir that reminds the reader, 'At certain moments, No one gives a s*** is one of the nicest things you can say to yourself.'--ShelfAwareness I loved this book so hard. Courtenay Hameister makes me feel thrilled to be alive-even though most things in life scare the crap out of me so much it's hard for me to walk out of my own front door. Okay Fine Whatever is a brilliant testament to the fire of the spirit for misfits and scaredy pants everywhere. A soul triumph. A reason to live.--Lidia Yuknavitch, author of The Book ofJoan and The Small Backs of Children Inspiring from the first pages. Courtenay fearlessly lets us into her head; she didn't clean up in there before company came over, and I am so glad. Her risk-taking adventures in career and love are more stirring to me than any daring physical feat.--Jen Kirkman, New York Times bestselling author of I Can BarelyTake Care of Myself Inspiring, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny.--Booklist It's a rare writer who is as frank, funny, and smart as Courtenay Hameister is on the page, and in Okay Fine Whatever her talent for all of these things is on full display. I was moved by Hameister's vulnerability as she wrote about her long-time struggles with her weight, her anxiety, and her search for love, and I was gobsmacked by the fearlessness with which she set out to do the varied, wild, strange things she thought would cure her of her deepest sorrows. I never wanted to put down Okay Fine Whatever. It's one of those books that takes you into its grips. It reads like an adventure novel and a secret whispered into your ear. It felt true to me and alive and real, like on every page I was witnessing someone who finally made good on an ancient dare. I loved this book.--Cheryl Strayed, New York Times bestselling author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things The book you need to read.--Bustle This bitingly funny memoir chronicles the year the author faced her fears. A smart, inspiring read.--People Vaguely embarrassed posers who think they know from humiliation, step aside - the somewhat intrepid yet thoroughly original and hilarious Courtenay Hameister is our new patron saint of the bizarre life experience. Readers everywhere will be super grateful to her for doing all this awkward stuff so they don't have to. Thanks, Courtenay!--Karen Karbo, author of In Praise of Difficult Women When was the last time a book made you giggle out loud repeatedly in public? Also, when was the last time a book made you feel totally and completely seen? Courtenay Hameister's memoir accomplishes both. Read it in public at your own risk.--HelloGiggles You guys, this book is f*cking funny.--Chelsea Handler