This book made me laugh out loud and I think would be well liked by anyone who's familiar with Maria's standup and comedy style. I liked the frenetic writing and pacing, it felt true to her style. The moments interspersed about her relationship with her spouse added a nice tenderness to the intense stories.

Considered by Judd Apatow to be the "funniest woman in the world," Maria Bamford has long been one of the comedy world's most brutally honest and relentlessly transparent voices with a brand of comedy that can be controversial yet is fiercely embraced by the millions, myself included, who resonate with her transparency, weirdness, and refreshingly brave commentary on herself and the world around her.

This is the Bamford that you should expect to come to life in "Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere," Bamford's literary debut and a book that possesses everything we've come to know and love about Bamford in her typically self-deprecating style and with a frenetic pace that will make it an exhausting experience for those who can't quite sync with Bamford's unique rhythms.

Bamford has long been open about her diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder, her nearly daily struggles with suicidal ideation, and her seemingly lifelong experiences with mental illness that have both challenged her daily existence while also fueling her comedy success.

It would be impossible to not completely love Bamford, and that sincerity and love come to life beautifully here, and you can't help but worry about her even as you're laughing right along.

"Sure, I'll Join Your Cult" is a different sort of memoir. It's less about Bamford's life journey and more about her journey toward something resembling belonging. Bamford's memoir of mental illness is a journey through the various groups, rigid structures, and organizations that most often temporarily gave her a place to stay like Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and Richard Simmons to 12-step groups like Debtors Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, and others. Seemingly in a better, or at least less precarious place now, Bamford's nearly ten-year marriage to Scott Cassidy seems to have provided her a grounding she's long craved and a stability that still feels as if it could dissipate in any moment.

There's an edginess to "Sure, I'll Join Your Cult" that is simultaneously exhilarating and more than a little frightening. Bamford invites us, as much as possible, inside her daily existence in a mind that survives yet constantly struggles to do so. She humanizes mental illness - not just by making us laugh but by allowing us to see her in a natural "as is" state of being. Seldom has an author felt so incredibly honest and brave and authentic as is the case with Bamford and "Sure, I'll Join Your Cult."

"Sure, I'll Join Your Cult" is destined to be a difficult read for some and a freeing read for others. It's an exhausting experience, however, it's also the kind of reading experience that makes you feel like maybe, just maybe, you can tell your own secrets and your own stories.

Maybe, just maybe you can find a place to belong.

I already absolutely loved Maria Bamford. "Sure, I'll Join Your Cult" helps me understand why and makes me love her even more.

I love Bamford's stand up. I grew up with a bi-polar mom so I kind of knew expected a disjointed, frenetic narrative. But it got pretty tedious a few chapters in.
Still a Bamford fan, just more for her comedy than for her writing.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've always enjoyed Maria Bamford's comedy - namely because of her willingness to speak openly about her own mental health challenges as part of her routine. And now I think I adore her even more after reading "Sure, I'll Join Your Cult" The book is mostly her pure, unfiltered honesty about the many difficulties that she's worked to manage, and I'm not sure how much I can put into words how much I appreciate her for it. It's funny at many times (if you're into her sense of humor), gut-wrenching and uncomfortable at others, but ultimately I enjoyed it because I found it to be something of a reassuring reading experience, if not outright cathartic at points. By being so incredibly open about her own life and the internal challenges that have shaped it, Maria not only reminds the many of us that battle our own respective mental and emotional inner demons to battle on a daily basis that we're far from alone, but also serves as a welcome reminder that it's definitely okay to talk about it.

This book was really funny. I loved how it dealt with everything through a cheery, joking way. It made it very digestible and it was great to get to know her story outside of TV and stand up.

I had no idea what to expect going in, but this was a solid read. I’m a sucker for mental health memoirs, but told by a comedian who calls them her mentals? It’s perfect. Turns out she’s just as obsessed with her pugs as I am, though there was one story that nearly made me cry about them. Cults? I love cult stories. And she’s joined plenty of culty communities and has great takeaways from each. I love how she handles the ups and downs (and even more ups and downs) of her life and manages to find lessons- or at least jokes- along the way.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy

Celebrity memoirs that don't suck

Memoirs, autobiographies, and personal narratives written by stars have become a mainstay in the genre. Most of the time, these books are either ghostwritten, half-assed, or a pure cash grab, with no substantive content whatsoever.

However, I've read a few of these memoirs this year that have surprised me, because of how compelling their stories were, how raw and vulnerable they were in sharing their truth, and how they sucked me in from beginning to end.

Here are my favorites:
1. @madisonbeer: The Half of It for a story about the less-than-glamourous side of being in the public eye and the trauma caused by misogynistic revenge porn

2. @aurorajames: Wildflower if you're looking to be inspired and see what it really takes to make it as a non-upper class woman of color in fashion, from a woman who is holding the door open for all those who will come after here with the @15percentpledge.

3. @mariabamfordcomedy: Sure I'll Join Your Cult if you want to laugh, cry, and question everything, through a story of rejection and the exploration of what it means to belong.

I wasn't quite prepared for the intense, sort of manic writing here. I thought it worked in the first chapter, but it became tedious pretty quickly. I enjoy Maria Bamford's stand up, but I guess it is not my thing when it is in written form.

This is a fast paced and funny memoir. It certainly had me laughing out loud more than once and chuckling all the way through. I appreciate the author’s candor and transparency. I have gone to 12 step groups and I appreciate her take on them. The book is lighthearted yet discusses very heavy, real and scary topics. Definitely recommend all the trigger warnings. It’s a funny read and I already know a friend I will gift it to. I recommend it highly!

This was a good title! I remember this author from when she did those funny Target Black Friday commercials years ago. Her sense of humor is funny and when I saw she wrote a book I was so excited to read. I can see that this may not be for everyone but if you know her and her humor, it'll be great! I think if she narrates the audiobook, I'll definitely pick that up when it releases!

As a longtime fan of Maria Bamford and “Lady Dynamite,” I was excited to read her memoir. Some of the more jokey/comedic ways of explaining things didn’t quite translate to the written form, but overall I really enjoyed learning more about her life. In terms of explaining her mental illness, I think the memoir format is effective in a different way than her standup material, while still maintaining a approachable, light-hearted, yet educational and honest tone. The structure of this memoir around the idea of “cults” was a great choice in my opinion. As I don’t have any close friends or family with mental illness like Maria’s, reading this gave me a valuable insight and perspective I never had.

What a wild read! Humor through tough topics. Bamford is a talented storyteller. I enjoyed reading about her life. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars.

I tried twice to read this, but was unable to gather any interest in it. Didn’t like her writing style. I didn’t finish it.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I recognized Maria's face from the cover and knew I had seen her before on Netflix, and was excited to get an early copy. Though this book deals with difficult topics such as mental health, Maria puts her hilarious spin on her difficult topics with framing it around "cults". Whether it is her own self identified cult of her family or actual nationally recognized "cults" of support groups, Maria shares her brutally honest experiences and how she picks herself back up. This woman has been through so much, from early in life having thoughts that she may lose control and hurt others, eating disorders, mental health struggles, hospitalizations to eventually her own Netflix show. She has accomplished so much and wish her all the best in her journey!

This book is chaos. I mean that in the most positive way possible.

Maria Bamford's "Sure, I'll Join Your Cult" is first and foremost, hilarious. It is hilarious at extremely inappropriate times. Admittedly, my family and friends agree that those are the funniest times. If you disagree, well, I don't know how much you'll like the book but you are missing out.

As funny as Bamford is, whether in this book or her amazing standup, I was not sure what this narrative would end up being. Memoirs can be a mixed bag because the subject may lack true insight, may not know where the funny is, or just thinks their life is interesting when it's not. Bamford almost lulled me into believing she was going to go hard into the humor of her life in the first few chapters. She talks about some heavy topics but it felt like she was going to her closer material to heighten the laughs. Slowly, Bamford reveals a lot more about how her brain works (her time in mental health facilities is especially eye opening) and becomes much more direct about her challenges. Don't worry, she never stops being funny in the book, but the latter half reveals the true intention of her book. She's had struggles and she hopes this book helps if you do, too.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Gallery Books.)

This was an excellent book that really delivered on its promise to provide good information about the mind-stealing that builds cults into the problem they are.