I first became familiar with Gary Janetti through his husband Brad Goreski's reality show appearances, though their charming "Bradbucks" series of Instagram posts early spring 2020 was a bright spot in every day, and Gary's own Instagram is wickedly funny. So, I very much looked forward to his last book, "Do You Mind if I Cancel?" - enjoyed but didn't quite live up to my high expectations. However, Janetti has hit his stride with "Start Without Me." While "Do You Mind" focused a lot on his 20s, this one has more childhood anecdotes, making it much more poignant - alternatively heartbreaking and hilarious, sometimes within the same sentence. He takes risks with his cultural references to growing up in New York in the 1970s, though if you get them, they hit just right.

Knowing he was gay since childhood, growing up in Catholic schools in Queens was a lonely existence, mainly finding solace and fascination in television and movies, when not preferring the company of older ladies to kids of his own age. It's easy to how his career as a successful television writer budded from these origins - "The Wizard of Oz" is brilliantly funny, and "A Chorus Line" is the perfect marriage of the naivete of youth and ,the disillusion of adulthood . We also see the role his parents played - the "Movies" chapter, being blithely carted along to age-inappropriate film such as "Jaws" and "The Omen" by mother, delivering my favorite line of the book, "children in the 70s didn't have feelings, this was not something that was developed until much later."

It would have been easy to read this in one sitting at just over 200 pages, though I consciously dragged it out over two evenings to savor it more- a quick read, but merits a future re-read, hopefully on audio with Janetti himself narrating?? My only complaint is it wasn't longer, though look forward to hopefully a next installment.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Gary Janetti's witty collection of essays entertained and touched me as I read start to finish in one sitting. I love Janetti's sense of humor and the stories he shares are so relatable and poignant that I found myself laughing and crying. Janetti vividly writes with such a strong sense of place that I felt like I had watched the stories on TV rather than read them in a book. This collection reminded me of when I first read David Sedaris, but with even a little more heart. Thoroughly enjoyable!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co for allowing me to read the ARC and provide an honest review.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: April 26, 2022

This collection of short stories that had me laughing out loud. Gary’s general distaste for other people (ugh, small talk!) and awkward situations (the show of opening presents in front of people or watching adults open presents!) is succinctly relatable (to me, at least)!

Aside from the laughs, this also has quite a bit of wisdom and a lot of heart. A fast, fun read that had me nostalgic and nodding my head to many of its anecdotes. This would be an ideal pick for your next flight or a weekend afternoon (maybe at the beach working on your tan! haha)

The perfect combination of so so funny and so so lovely. I found myself laughing out loud at one page and then tearing up in the next. The writing is conversational and done in such a well-paced, smart way. I’m a fan of the author’s work writing for some of my favorite tv shows and, of course, his Twitter comments but this book adds a complex dimension of sweetness and nostalgia that makes me like Gary even more. I’m so grateful to have been given an advanced copy by Henry Holt and Co - what a gift this is. Buying for everyone I know - it’s perfect.

I was so excited that I was granted early access to Gary's new book, thank you #Netgalley!

I am a long time fan of Gary's work, his sarcastic conversational writing makes for a fun light read. In this memoir, he shared a collection of essays, the majority of his childhood and growing up in New York. He talks about he did not necessarily fit in and his love of television and movies. So many stories made me laugh out loud, and some were so relatable! I love the stories about him connecting with the nuns, his neighbor, basically older women that enjoyed gossiping and chatting. He preferred this to children his own age. He didn't want to play sports or go to the athletic club, instead he would sneak out for ice cream and walking around clothing stores. I admire that he knew what he wanted and didn't want and didn't let that stop him. So many funny stories, highly recommend!