Girl Walks into a Bar...: Comedy Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle

Funny, Funny & Heartwarming

Rachel of course.

Was not aware that she has read or written other books. I loved her voice and would listen to her read menu.

Yes, and could have if I had not started so late at night and needed to get to bed.

I have a feeling I will listen to this again and again over the next few years. It was just really that enjoyable of a book.

This is a genuine laugh out loud listen. New Zealands State Highway one echoed to my laughter as I drove my truck through the night. I have recently suffered some personal trauma and this listen was much better than any drug to put me back on top and the colour back into life. Rachels Dratch's self effacing honesty and wry observations left me wanting more. Please write another to bring us up to date Rachel. Im keeping this one as an antidote to any future depression. My only criticism, and its a minor one, is that you read a bit fast which can detract.

Just all of Rachel's awkward moments, from being offered nothing but lesbian roles, to accidentally ending up on a date with a gay guy.

The email from her baby's uncle-to-be. I was crying on the subway.

I was pretty amused by all the metaphysical stuff. For example, when she went to see a channeler who becomes Kendra, the vaguely Indian-sounding spirit guide.

Yes, it was very engaging.

I have to admit, I was initially more interested in the show biz/SNL part, which is really only the first, say, 15% of the book. But it was so entertaining and such a sweet story that I got sucked into the rest of it.

Yes, because there is ALWAYS something new for me to hear.

The letter from Doug.

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Both! There were some really funny parts and some parts that made me shed a tear.

I just finished the audio book. It is SO funny! It’s open & honest with a slight edginess. It’s that edginess that is it’s GREATEST charm. Listening to Rachel's easy conversational style, I get the feeling that I’m hanging out, (at a bar, of course, with a couple of glasses of Pinot) talking to an old friend.

I read People magazine, so I knew how this story ended. Yet I couldn't stop listening because I wanted to find out what happened next in this hilarious and well-written memoir.

I was afraid that once she finished writing about her Second City and SNL experiences that the book might drag. But I enjoyed the stories about how she met her "baby Daddy" and the eventual birth of her son just as much as the showbiz stories.

I also thought that no memoir could make me laugh as hard as Tina Fey's memoir. But this one is just as funny and Dratch reads it beautifully. It's a hilarious, yet touching and sweet story that I highly recommend!

One more thing: I usually can't listen to audiobooks when I drive because they lull me to sleep. But this one kept me wide awake and left me wanting more when I finished it. I hope she'll write a sequel!

I enjoyed it and listened to it in 2 days.

the overall tone of the book. She is so adorable and likeable and relatable. I think that is her strength. I'd like to see her focus more on that and she is really good at doing audiobooks. doesn't sound like she is reading from a script

This is the most human "Hollywood" story I've ever heard. While we like to pretend that talent and fortitude will always win out, we know when we say it that's not necessarily true. And this story of someone trying and succeeding and failing and trying and getting depressed and trying some more just hits home with sincerity and comic timing that is flawless. Could not have been performed by anyone else, and reminds us that maybe, just maybe, talent IS enough to get us to prevail.

I enjoy funny women and their memoirs, but this isn't the strongest I've ever read. I preferred Jane Lynch's Happy Accidents and even Tina Fey's Bossypants. There is something pleasantly "free-form" and "stream of consciousness" about Dratch's writing, but it makes for an overall mixed bag of a book. The audiobook, narrated by Dratch, is funny and she speaks to the listener as though they were a friend -- breaking into different voices and really intensifying her own punchlines. This is what I loved best about Girl Walks Into a Bar..., having the actress literally bring her words to life in your ears.

To make the story more enjoyable, I would have focused more on her UCB/improv training days, her SNL experiences, and even her auditioning stories -- arguably, the most entertaining and interesting parts of the book, though Dratch repeats, "This isn't a showbiz memoir." The bulk, then, is about mommyhood and babies and "Oh, can't new moms be full of themselves?" which felt tired and not as humorous or engaging. I also can't help feeling the "30+ New York City gal dating horror stories" have also been told better, on countless Sex and the City episodes and columns in Glamour magazine. So, while maybe Dratch didn't set out to write a showbiz memoir, maybe she could have written a "comedian's life" memoir in the style of Steve Martin's Born Standing Up.

I found her UCB/Improv stories to be the most engaging -- how her brain worked on stage improvising, how the team dynamic worked in the improv world, the joy of making other comedians laugh, etc.

Starring Rachel Dratch as Rachel Dratch -- And Not a Crude Caricature of a Butch Lesbian! -- a role she often laments she plays.

Worth a listen, especially if you're into funny women.

Rachel Dratch's telling of her life experiences is hilarious! She is very honest and sincere.

Tina Fey's memoir is similar and also hilarious.

This is a great listen--especially for fans of Dratch, SNL, comedy writing.....pop culture. As to be expected, Dratch is really funny- but also self-deprecating and sweet. She talks about how she got into performing, SNL and what her current situation is professionally and personally. All autobiographies are by definition personal, but this seemed even more so than other's I've listened to or read. There were many unglamorous anecdotes and "every girl" moments that were especially humorous because of her inner monologue, comments, asides, etc.... I felt like she really put it all out there and it made me wish we were friends...haha!

Dratch also did a great job narrating the book--it was actor-y when it needed to be and even when it was appropriate. No overperforming here. A great pick!