I loved being at the reading for END CREDITS at Zibby's bookshop!
It was great to meet Patty Lin and I put the reel about the event across my social and in this article
https://www.wesaidgotravel.com/zibby-owens/

Engaging and insightful. A recommended purchase for collections where memoirs and pop culture titles are popular.

I really enjoyed Patty Lin’s memoir and appreciated her honesty about television writing. She didn’t sugarcoat anything and her story gave me a new appreciation of film and tv writers and how it’s not as glamorous as it looks.

I was so thrilled when I received this book in the mail.
I was excited to read END CREDITS a memoir by Patty Lin and I read it in 2 days.
This book was real. I felt as if the author was personally telling me her story. She’s bold, fearless, smart, funny and writes with honesty. Many parts of this book had me thinking “ could I do that”?
The answer is “Yes”

From the lifestyle of a Hollywood writer for TV shows like “Friends” “Desperate Housewives” and “Breaking Bad” shows I have watched, she opens up about the not so glamorous job. It certainly had my attention and the ending of this book had me realizing that my hopes of writing my own book one day is truly possible. Actually anything is possible!

This memoir is written by a former tv writer, recounting her career and relationship journey over a 20ish year span, during which time she worked on a number of super famous shows, along with some less famous ones and projects that never came to fruition. She describes many toxic work environments, with racism, sexism, and just all around bullying of everyone, as well as seeking work-life balance while living through an extreme lack thereof. We also see her relationship with her family and boyfriends during this time.

In addition to reading a lot, I also watch a lot of tv, so it was really interesting to see a behind the scenes view of what it’s like to work on these shows, even if she reveals it wasn’t so fun working on shows I enjoyed. But it doesn’t feel like she has an axe to grind, more like she’s a friend spilling these stories to you, or even like she’s writing this book as therapy, which I think it kind of was for her! I’m glad she got out of an environment that made her so unhappy and found more happiness by the time the book ended. And I’m also glad she published this book both because it was an interesting read and because I hope it helped her recapture a joy in writing.

It can be really difficult to write a review for a memoir that didn’t work for me. All writing is personal but especially when someone is telling their personal story, it is tough to say it didn’t work. In this case - Lin was doing a good job of showing that being a writer on tv shows isn’t as cool as people might expect - it really is just a job in many ways, with many of the same frustrations and challenges many of us face. I decided to DNF this one but ymmv! Thank you to Zibby Books, Netgalley and Libro.fm for the free book/audiobook to review.

"𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩."

𝗘𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗦 has everything I love in a memoir - terrific writing, a candid look back at the author's experiences and a little Hollywood dirt.

As a former TV writer for shows including 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘎𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴, 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 and 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘢𝘥, it's not surprising that Patty Lin has a way with words but she tells her story in a way that feels like a one-on-one conversation (she also does a fabulous job narrating the audiobook!). Her struggles with work-life balance, toxic co-workers and bosses, dealing with racism and sexism, and living up to her parents' expectations are relatable no matter what industry you're in, and her revelations about some of the A-listers she's worked with are illuminating.

As someone who also works in TV, I found myself nodding along to her industry observations (I may have actually replied "Amen, sister!" to the line "It was clear to me now that most execs were either meddlers that gummed up the creative process or useless sycophants" while listening in my car...) and identifying with her ambivalence over whether it's all worth it. In the end, the thing that impressed me more than Lin achieving the Hollywood dream was that she had the courage to give it up.

Thanks to Zibby Books for the copy to review.

What I enjoyed about this book: the celebrity gossip and anecdotes (almost cheating on her boyfriend with Jason Segel; smoking weed with Seth Rogen; partying with Salma Hayek); the inside look into the gnarly business of TV writing (insane hours, horrible work environments, abusive and/or incompetent bosses, maddening interactions with execs).

What I did not enjoy: the boring, repetitive content about the author's family and relationship troubles, especially her drawn-out relationship with Carl and her feelings of disappointing her family. Obviously I wouldn't have minded knowing about Lin's personal life—it's a memoir, after all. But it feels like she didn't know how to narrativize these parts of her personal history in a compelling way. It was the same thing over and over again with minimal transformation. Knowing Lin's background and credentials as a writer, I expected better. And why did she have to have that whole aside where she claimed that Israelis are filled with a unique joie de vivre because they live in constant fear of terrorist attacks? Seriously? Why did she have to bring up Israel (and implicitly Israel-Palestine) at all? Came off as very disrespectful and ignorant.

That being said, I am glad Lin names names in this books and exposes bad behavior in the TV industry.

Very heavy in detail. She explores her career well and explains each detail thoroughly. For me personally, there were perhaps too many details and not enough personal reflection on those details.. If you want to know each and every step of her career, then this is for you

Thank you Zibby Books and Netgalley for providing the ARC for this title as well as Libro.fm for providing the ALC. This book was juicy AF.

There were so many times throughout this book where I was googling trying to figure out who some of these characters were in real life! This was an incredible insight into the TV writing world, written through the eyes and experiences of an Asian-American woman.

I know there's going to be people who read this and complain that the author needs thicker skin because "that's the way the business is," so I'll just say THIS right now: That's the way the business is and THAT is the problem.

This is such a timely read given the current writer's strike as well as the numerous reports of toxic work environments on the sets of beloved shows belonging to beloved celebrities. I found myself feeling openly outraged at how Lin was treated on so many beloved shows, as a woman, as a writer, as a lover of pop culture. Seriously, some of these showrunners are now on my shit list.

What I really appreciate is the self-awareness of the author. She acknowledges areas of privilege, and gets ahead in a lot of areas where she discusses her trauma while still pointing out that it it no way compares to certain other traumas (because lord knows, no one can talk about their traumas or struggles without someone pointing out that some people have it so much worse).

Is there a certain degree of privilege in her ability to simply walk away from her career? Sure. But I don't think Lin lacks any awareness of that in the narration.

I also appreciated the themes of family and acceptance throughout the book, as these themes are both culture-specific and universal.

This is a voice that needs to be heard and a story that needed to be told. I can't wait to read more from Lin.

Absolutely loved this book! Books about the inner workings of Hollywood are fascinating and Ms. Lin brought a biting wit and her gift for storytelling to the mix. If you've ever wished you could be a writer on a hit TV show, think again. It's not what you imagine and the back-biting, sexism, and thinly veiled racism are hard to bear. Not to mention ageism. Is everyone in TV under 40? It would defeat anyone without a strong inner core, and luckily Ms. Lin is well equipped to handle the stresses of the business. It's a journey and the end point might surprise you. I guarantee you will love this book!

"If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you're the asshole." - Raylan Givens

There are aspects of this book that were interesting and I learned some things about productions on specific shows but I heavily disliked the author the entire time. She had grievances with every single person in this book, mostly for dumb, inconsequential, or pure conjecture reasons. She was never asked back for any job, and at a certain point, you get to understand why - everything is always everyone else's problem, she is always the only virtuous one in the room, the only one willing to stand up for what's right. There are moments where she is very critical of Hollywood culture but then turns around and lashes out at people who try to help her.

I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt to a degree because Hollywood is a known difficult place and some situations were unambiguously unfair/terrible for her to be in, but I reached my limit of grace with the Breaking Bad stuff. She wrote for the first season and while I obviously do not know Vince Gilligan and he could be totally different than his media portrayal, everyone seems to think highly of him and he is always praising other people. And Patty Lin didn't like him, which, fair enough. I don't know the story. But she doesn't out him for crazy behavior. She tries to paint him as a rude, aloof, selfish person for things like not using a whiteboard, forgetting to tell her about revisions, the irredeemable sin of procrastination, not being sure the direction he wanted the show to go in, and wanting to get some last minute writing in for the show before the Writer's strike. And for having the audacity to fire her, of course.

Maybe she is completely in the right and every person she ever came across in Hollywood was insufferable and she is a writing genius who just was underutilized by everyone. Or maybe not.

As someone who once considered pursuing TV writing and now has students contemplating it as a career, I tore through END CREDITS by Patty Lin. She was such an engaging voice and was so vulnerable about her experiences throughout her television writing career. It's such a brutal field and, as Lin's experience shows repeatedly, to "be good in a room" is not the same as being a good writer. The one item that felt missing in Lin's story was how she made a living after retiring. She refers to writing END CREDITS for ten years, but there's no way writing a memoir covered her living for a decade. I'm thinking of my students here: would residuals carry them for ten years? What skills are transferrable that might not be obvious? Otherwise, I absolutely recommend this book for a generous and much-needed look beyond "written by" on our TV screens.

Despite the fact that I rarely watch TV, I found myself entirely invested in Patty Lin’s memoir, END CREDITS. Patty Lin recounts her career as a television writer and factors such as racism, sexism, and extreme working conditions that led her to leave the industry. With brutal honesty, Patty shares what it was like to work as a writer on big-name shows such as Friends, Freaks & Geeks, Breaking Bad, and Desperate Housewives.

I knew close to nothing about how TV shows are made, and the lives of the writers behind the shows. Though her career dreams quickly lost their luster, Patty was able to reclaim her passion and reprioritize her life and livelihood. END CREDITS also helped me understand the current Writer’s strike and makes for an especially timely read.

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: August 29, 2023

Many thanks to Zibby Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author Patty Lin, publisher Zibby Books, and as always NetGalley for an advance digital copy of ᴇɴᴅ ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛs. All opinions are mine

What an excellent read! Both funny and touching-- I've read many Hollywood insider stories, but never one from a series writer. It was so enlightening, and it made me sympathize more with the writers on strike right now!

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. I connected so much to Linn's discussion about her childhood, from having no clue about her period when it started, to craving validation from any and all adults because she wasn't getting it at home, to being a creative lost in a family of science minded people.

2. Friends is one of my favorite shows. I've watched all the seasons at least five times. I loved reading Lin's memories about writing some of its greatest jokes. My favorite bit was about Lin jumping in as an extra and working for David Schwimmer, who was directing that day:

"David Schwimmer, who was directing the episode, came over to give instructions.... “Patty, can you scooch closer to the door?” I scooched, thrilled that instead of saying, “Hey, you,” Schwimmer addressed me by name. Really, it takes so little for a celebrity to seem like a decent person. That night was the high point of my Friends experience. For once, I felt like I had something to do with the show." Loc. 1976

3. How Lin writes about returning to Manhattan after living in L.A.:

"I couldn’t say that I missed the day-to-day stress of living in Manhattan, yet many of my fondest memories of the city were intertwined with this difficulty. The rats and cockroaches, the taxis that nearly ran you over when you crossed the street, the soup vendors yelling at you for not ordering fast enough. Surviving all that stuff builds character and fosters an intense, if perhaps irrational, loyalty." Loc. 2098

It reminds me completely of episodes of Seinfeld, particularly the soup Nazi episode. It makes me realize how real some of that show is! That is another of my favorite shows. Reading this book is wonderfully surreal at moments!

4. I absolutely love how Lin writes about being an adult with childhood trauma. I don't really know what these passages read like to perfectly functional adults who had ideal childhoods with flawless parenting, but to me, with an inner child still crispy from the two decade volcano eruption that was my childhood home, Lin's ability to articulate the challenges of navigating certain aspects of adulting is beyond precious. It's priceless.

"The person who felt inadequate at all those jobs—the one who was crushed when she got yelled at or rewritten or fired— was just a kid. Though I had always balked at “inner child” clichés, I now saw that a part of me remained stuck in a kind of arrested development. The thought of that inner third-grader being put through all the pressures and humiliations of my career filled me with compassion. I would never let that happen to her again." Loc. 3969

It's feels so strange to feel normal. Only really good writing could ever give me this gift.

5. The way she writes about moms and trauma.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. Lin made me tear up twice in this book!🥹🥺

2. She writes as though Burning Man is some small private garden party that no one's ever heard of but, uhm, it's that huge thing in the desert, yeah?

Closing quote: "If a person told me, "Your writing sucks and no one wants to read it," would I trust them? Would I think they were looking out for me? No, I would ignore them and keep going." Loc. 4100 --on negative self-talk and determination

Thank you Zibby Books for the review copy! This is a great memoir, I am always drawn to books and memoirs that are focused on behind the scenes themes with Hollywood and this was particularly powerful because of the themes on being the only woman in the space and with navigating the intersections of race and gender together. I valued being a part of the journey that Patty Lin offered me as a reader, What won me over though was less the behind the scenes and more the examination of what she wanted from life, work, and love/family. I really appreciated her candor, I can relate to a lot of the questions/struggles faced in my own way and applauded her strength and sassiness or moxie, we need more women engaging us in these stories and feelings!

Thanks Zibby!

I finished the first chapter and really enjoyed what I started. Sadly this is the second Zibby book upload that is missing words or fragments of words. An example is rst instead of first. It makes it too difficult for me to read and triggers a migraine. I’ll grab a physical book now that it’s published and will review on Goodreads once I’m finished.

This memoir is such a poignant peek into the life of being a television writer! End Credits is detailed without being over-the-top gossipy and provides an important behind-the-scenes look at being a woman and a woman of color in show business (spoiler: it's pretty bad). Representation matters! So many of the shows the author wrote for/about are ones I grew up with and this book provides a great reminder that what we see isn't always true -- and we don't really know all that we think we do. I appreciated the author's candor and that she had the spunk to listen to herself and to walk away from what she worked for for so long. Thanks to @ZibbyBooks, @zibbyowens, and @virtualpattylin for the advanced copy and the opportunity to read and share my thoughts.

End Credits: How I Broke up with Hollywood
By: Patty Lin
5 📝 📝📝📝📝

Love, love, loved this memoir. So candid! I love how Patty is baring her soul with her journey in Hollywood.
📝
She talks about getting to work on some of the hottest shows of her time as one of the few women writers and the people she worked with. So many writers and actors dream to make it in Hollywood, and only a handful have their dreams come true. One of my favorite shows mentioned was Desperate Housewives. She also talks about David Letterman and her personal relationships throughout the years.
📝
I loved the behind the scenes look into this world and her struggles where she persevered. She definitely had moxie!
📝
Thank you Zibby Books for this fun and fascinating memoir. I also had a Netgalley copy and downloaded the audio, which Patty narrates so that was special. She is fast talking and her humor reminds me of Lauren Grahams audiobooks.

#howtowalkawayfromhmywood, #pattylin, #zibbybooks, #netgalley, #audiobook, #Happypubday, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50

END CREDITS by Patty Lin is a joy to read -- throughout her fine book, I felt like I was spending time with an intelligent, curious, fascinating friend. I deeply appreciated the view behind the scenes of some of my favorite programs and applaud the courage and vulnerability of how she shared her experiences, perspective, and ultimate life choices for herself. She definitely conjures the pressure, the rewards, the impossible demands of an intensely creative and challenging world. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.