Maeve Dunigan on Her Memoir "Read This to Look Cool"

Do you ever look back at everything you did to seem cool growing up and just have to laugh?

This week I sit down with Maeve Dunigan, author of Read This to Look Cool, a memoir told in essays that had us laughing out loud on one page and completely choked up on the next. Maeve got her start writing sketch comedy in college before publishing satire in the New Yorker, and she brings that same sharp, funny voice to essays covering everything from straightening her hair within an inch of its life to a ruptured appendix at McDonald's to her deep, unwavering love of One Direction. We talked about the sad clown theory of comedy, why she considers chronic lateness a personality flaw, and how she learned that the version of herself she was always trying to be is usually just who she is when she stops trying. We also got the scoop on her already finished second book, a satirical murder mystery about a boy band trapped in a hotel with a killer in their midst. This one made us laugh so much we almost forgot how much heart it has too.

Share this conversation with the friend who was also burning her hair with a straightener in high school.

"I’m trying not to let my insecurity muffle my curiosity." - Maeve Dunigan's essay collection READ THIS TO LOOK COOL

Connect with Maeve Dunigan: https://www.maevedunigan.com @maevedunigan

Books Referenced: READ THIS TO LOOK COOL by Maeve Dunigan

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This episode is produced, recorded, and its content edited by me. Xx, Alex

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