PRESS

 

 

ADVANCE PRAISE


"I DON'T HAVE A HAPPY PLACE is the book you'll beg your friends to read--for its pitch-perfect humor, scintillating wit, and refreshing depiction of life in all its extraordinary, and ordinary, absurdity. I haven't laughed like this since David Sedaris, and Kim Korson is certainly a new and exciting voice in nonfiction, unafraid to shout out loud the things you and I may only dare to think.Every story in I DON'T HAVE A HAPPY PLACE captivates the reader with a deliciously neurotic splendor, from Korson's 1970s suburban childhood, to the years she spent struggling to break into NYC show biz, to her unexpected, and heartwarming, small town adult life. I DON'T HAVE A HAPPY PLACE is one of the most original and entertaining memoirs I've read in years. Readers will welcome the crisp cultural commentary, laugh out loud in its true-to-life but also theatrical scenes and, above all, recognize themselves in Korson's surprisingly comforting lay-it-on-the-line confessions."                    

 -- Julia Fierro, author of Cutting Teeth

"In the razor-sharp, acerbic I Don’t Have A Happy Place, Kim Korson— think: Jewish, female, Canadian David Sedaris— recounts her adventures as a true malcontent, from a childhood incident with a drowned babysitter, to an early career as an uninspired talent agent, and a long term hookup in New York that transforms into an unexpectedly content (or at least tolerable) lifelong love in Vermont."

    -- Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, New York Times bestselling author of Bittersweet

"Kim Korson must be stopped. My wife thinks she's funnier than me." 

     -- Jon Stewart

"Makeup-wearing dads, squirrel attacks, death, Phil Donahue - there's something for everybody in Kim Korson's great new book. And if not having a happy place is what it takes to make writing so hilarious, smart, and honest, I selfishly hope Kim remains miserable within reason for many years to come. Buy this book now unless you are some kind of jerk."

     -- Dave Hill,  author of Tasteful Nudes

"Korson is a Vermont-based writer, wife, and mother—but most   notably a grouch, who crafts her moments of anxiety, disdain, and    misanthropy with a healthy dose of humor. Originally from Montreal, Korson was an atypical kid who hated summer camp and riding bikes, but at nine she knew all the words to Sondheim’s “The Ladies Who Lunch,” which she broke out with an Elaine Stritch–level of cynicism at Passover and other family gatherings. Her father, who worked in the garment industry, was no stranger to bronzer, purses, and Capricorn necklaces. Her mother, who leaves a very memorable impression on the reader, adopted a version of Phil Donahue–inspired feminism and never left the house without full makeup and helmet hair that would have wowed the ladies of Dynasty. Korson’s inner curmudgeon is challenged by her easygoing, nonplussed boyfriend turned husband—the kind of guy who proposes to Korson while the two are on vacation in Mexico and getting cursed out, then books them an upgrade for another trip. Hilariously and unexpectedly, it’s a trip to Disney World with her husband that really has her number, as she excitedly spots her childhood favorites, Chip and Dale, and later bursts into tears on the Small World ride. Korson’s preoccupations—checking crime blotters for neighborhood stats, being certain that her first child would come out crazy, avoiding chitchat at parties—may keep her firmly in her cranky cave but will strike a funny bone in readers. " 

   -- Publishers Weekly

"I love this book. It's like 95% cacao chocolate - bitter but delicious. Kim is a wonderful malcontent, a woman who proudly hates a parade and writes brilliantly about everything from cottage cheese to DisneyWorld. She's a combination of Bill Hicks and Sloane Crosley. I want to hang out with her, but I'm afraid she'd make fun of me in her next book, which I can't wait to read." 

-- A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically