I have been a fan of Casey Wilson since her days on Saturday Night Live. I have followed her career through her television & movie roles, as well as her podcast; so know you are reading the review of a fan (and someone who not only shares her name, but our birthdates are a day apart). LOL!
With that said, this book is full of the humor I expected, but also she is vulnerable, honest, and at times, heartbreaking. Casey covers everything from her career, her obsession with eating in bed and even discusses the loss of her mother. (Coca-Cola <3 ). I know that I read this book from a fan's perspective but it is a great read for anyone who likes an honest laugh. Casey Wilson was born to entertain and this book absolutely showcases her gift of storytelling.

Beautifully worded collection of essays from Casey Wilson. Most of the tales will be familiar to her podcast audience, but the chapters about her mom were especially compelling.

Casey’s book was amazing! I have loved her ever since seeing her star on that NBC show. It was a shame it got canceled bc it was so good! Her stories are so funny, inspiring m, relatable, and uplifting. I could relate to so many of her little quirks and I have heard so many good things about this book from so many people! Def recommend. I hope she writes a sequel.

Love Casey Wilson, loved this book. Feels like listening to a good friend who is also extremely hilarious. It's hard to write about the frustrating nuances of motherhood with this kind of humor and grace. Loved it.

In all honestly I didn't really 100% know who Casey Wilson was when I started this book—but I had heard good things about her and I also like reading basically all humor books that are published by women.

I loved it. I think that when most people say, "I laughed out loud!" they don't really mean it, but I completely did laugh out loud. I also cried, which is the mark of a truly great piece of humor writing. Wilson writes with great energy and compassion, and you can't help but fall in love with her and family as you read. I especially appreciated her discussion of women and anger, and her willingness to talk about silly topics with the same gusto as serious ones. Her thoughts on grief, especially surrounding the loss of her mother, are wonderful.

Like many books like this, there are a couple of filler essays—like the one about her time on her television show or the one about her podcast. I know these are added for her fans of the shows, but I found them not nearly as interesting or insightful as the others, even if they fill in some of her storyline.

This collection of essays runs the gamut from breezy comedic anecdotes to heart-wrenching, intimate revelations. Casey holds little back, giving readers nuanced takes on grief, motherhood, anger, insecurities, and, of course, the Real Housewives. Casey’s voice and vulnerability are astounding, and any fan of hers will be thrilled at this read. The book does feel slightly directionless at times, with certain essays feeling unfinished or dropping story threads that deserved to be examined more in depth, making reading it cover to cover a more difficult sell to someone who isn’t already deeply invested in Casey. However, the best essays in this book will speak to anyone, and I’ll be going back to them again and again.

Well-written, deep, and fun. Wilson is a fantastic writer - her voice might be a bit young for me, but it's the kind of book I would have adored at 22 and talked about to every person I met.

So I LOVE Casey Wilson. Happy Endings is my all time favorite show, and I love her podcast Bitch Sesh. about all things Bravo/Real Housewives. That said, reading her writing was a little up and down for me. I wish I'd had this as an audiobook narrated by the author, because I bet that's just perfect. I really liked reading more about her life, and was especially touched by the essays about her relationship with (and her processing of the loss of) her mother. I definitely enjoyed this as a huge fan, but I did feel like some of it was overwritten on the page in a way that would have landed more naturally orally. My only other complaint is that, as a superfan, I would have loved even more Happy Endings related content.

Thank you to Harper, NetGalley and the author for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

I wish I could give this title 3.5 stars instead of 3. I didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. Sometimes you read a celebrity memoir that you would have enjoyed whether or not you were familiar with the author, and I can't say that I think that is the case here. If you're a fan of Casey Wilson, and there are many, this book delivers what you've come to expect from her: a certain unvarnished honesty about her own foibles, mixed with a lot of privilege. (Which she acknowledges, but if you're not in the mood to read about a famous white woman spending her money, look elsewhere.) The book has its touching moments and of course, a lot of humor, but overall felt a bit inessential.

Casey Wilson is hilarious, honest, and raw in this collection of essays. Reading this book only made me fall even more in love with her wit and humor. Casey is relatable and will truly having you laughing out loud while nodding your head along. Congrats to Casey for such an excellent book.

I enjoy memoirs of actors/performers that I’m a fan of because while I’m not super into celeb gossip or prying into the lives of people I have no right to, I do feel closer to those who choose to share their messy, beautiful selves with curious readers. Her conversation with Louie Anderson made me emotional, and I appreciated the bigger theme of her struggling with the loss of her mother. But I also laughed out loud many times, like she could be a friend of mine.

The Happy Endings chapter. My heart (my Hartz?) Bless her for including Penny’s iconic mini-rant about taking a whore’s bath in an Au Bon Pain, which remains one of the funniest line deliveries of anything I’ve ever heard, ever.

My only hesitation in recommending memoirs stems from the assumption that unless someone already knows who the person is, I don’t think they would be interested in the book as a whole. But that will never stop me from talking about how much I love and admire her.

I laughed until I cried and then cried straight up. Casey Wilson is an absolute treasure. I first saw her in Happy Endings and loved that she dedicated a chapter of this book to that period in her life. It should have gotten the same reception that Schitts Creek did! And I will forever be thinking about the man who farted at her mother's grave and then cried the whole way home.

I have been craving a book that dealt with this new normal of life since the Covid-19 outbreak, but also wanted something familiar and light. Wilson’s book hit the perfect spot for me!

This book made me laugh out loud and yet also cry with the moments of vulnerability and her honesty. One can identify with both the love and quirks of being in a family as a child, motherless daughter, and as a new mother... and the trials and tribulations of working towards success. Her writing style reminds me of David Sedaris’ earlier work. I echo another reviewer’s sentiment that this book was better than I anticipated and I can only imagine how much I would also enjoy the audio version.

***Thanks to Harper and NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.***

casey wilson's collection of essays runs the gamut from vulnerable to funny, the good stuff is heartbreaking and the less good stuff is fine! just about as uneven as your typical essay collection.

As a Bitch Sesh podcast and Happy Endings fan, I was already familiar with Casey Wilson and her brand of self-deprecating comedy. I was excited to read her stories in The Wreckage of my Presence, and it did not disappoint!

Wilson is an actress, writer, mother, (elder) millennial, and podcast host who lives in Los Angeles. She has written this book of essays that seamlessly covers topics like her love of The Real Housewives franchise, the sudden death of her mother, her sugar addiction, postpartum depression, wage gaps, her sessions with a kitchen healer , and her young son's serious health issues. Each essay is full of laughter, self-reflection, poignant societal analysis, and the ridiculous beauty of being a woman at this time in history. Whether she is talking about her strict no sharing of treats during movies policy, her search for clarity and spirituality (at Flywheel), or her very real personal and professional failures and insecurities, she is able to make readers laugh, cry, and nod furiously in understanding, I read many parts out loud to my husband, laughed openly, and cried in equal measure.

If you like celebrity memoirs like Bossy Pants by Tina Fey, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling, and Yes Please by Amy Poehler, then this book is for you! You might be surprised by the high quality of writing and the way the pages turn so quickly-- but I wasn't because I listen to her every week on Bitch Sesh! I highly recommend this book to fellow Alenes (podcast fans) and anyone who needs a good laugh this year. Brava, Casey, and thank you for making my two loves-- Housewives and reading books-- come together so wonderfully!

I’ve been waiting for Wilson to drop a book since her Lenny article about anger in 2016. It was as vulnerable and hilarious as I’d hoped it would be. It is a love letter to her mother, and the mother she is becoming, and the Real Housewives franchise. Made me want to dive into Happy Endings all over again!

A collection of humorous and touching, albeit uneven, essays from actor and podcaster Casey Wilson. Standout pieces—such as “Bed Person,” “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and “Flyentology,”—cover the mundanity of everyday life, excess and obsession, and pop culture.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I have had a few issues with some of the things Casey has said on the Bitch Sesh podcast (though I love Danielle!), but wanted to read this anyway for the Housewives stuff. I went in expecting to walk away disliking Casey. But god dammit if this wasn’t a delightful, relatable, heartbreaking read. I rarely literally LOL when reading, and this book had me doing it several times. Though it was mostly fun and funny, there were a couple of chapters that were just heart wrenching. I had heard a few of the stories included on the podcast but enjoyed revisiting them here. The writing was ALL Casey, no ghostwriter needed, and on the page her tone came off wittier, smarter, and just...better? than it does on the podcast. Dare I say it was one of the best collections of essays I’ve ever read? And I’ve read a lot. I will be rereading at some point. 4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5.