Cool, Calm & Contentious: Essays

In this hilarious collection of candid essays, including two pieces new to this edition, New York Times bestselling author Merrill Markoe reveals much about her personal life--as well as the secret formula for comedy: Start out with a difficult mother, develop some classic teenage insecurities, add a few relationships with narcissistic men, toss in an unruly pack of selfish dogs, finish it off with the kind of crystalline perspective that only comes from years of navigating a roiling sea of unpleasant and unappeasable people, and--voilà--you're funny! Cool, Calm & Contentious is honest, unapologetic, sometimes heartbreaking, but always shot through with Merrill Markoe's biting, bracing wit.

"This has been a great year for funny women. . . . Let's call Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling exhibits A and B. Both owe a debt to those who came before, including Merrill Markoe."--The Boston Globe

"Markoe's goal is to find the absurdity in everyday life. That, coupled with her sharp wit, makes her writing sublime."--BookPage

"Laugh-out-loud humor."--Tampa Bay Times

"Not only crazy-funny, but crazy-heartbreaking."--The New York Times