Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons

By: Greg Fitzsimmons

Narrated by: Greg Fitzsimmons, Zach Galifianakis, Adam Carolla, Natalie Maines, Bob Saget, Brian Posehn, Andy Dick, Mike O'Malley

Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

PARENTS: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

Greg Fitzsimmons has made a lot of what appear to be bad decisions. It's what he was raised to do. Most parents would hide or destroy any evidence so clearly demonstrating their child's failures, but - lucky for us - Greg Fitzsimmons's family has preserved each mistake in its original envelope like a trophy in a case, lest he ever forget where he came from.

Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons is Greg's life, told through this cavalcade of disciplinary letters, incident reports, and newspaper clippings that his parents received from teachers and school officials. Greg picks up where his parents left off with his own collection of letters received during college and throughout his successful career as a writer, producer, and stand-up comic. Revealing the larger story of how Greg's distinctly dysfunctional Irish-American family bred him to blindly challenge anyone, anytime, anywhere, over anything, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons comes full circle to show that the Fitzsimmons torch has been passed on proudly to a new generation.

©2010 Greg Fitzsimmons (P)2011 Fitzdog Audio

More than about being a comedian

What did you like best about this story?

I expected a story about becoming a comedian, which would have been enjoyable enough. However, I was pleasantly surprised that Greg crafted a story that was vivid, poignant, and relevant, as well as really funny. Thanks!

Came to laugh; left with happy tears and nostalgia

Was taken off-guard& blown away! Greg was born to write this book. Much love-- Brian.

Weak

This book offers little - unless you're interested in the oral history of the Fitzsimmons Family. Large chunks of the narrative are spent reciting who married who, where they lived and what an ancestor was like. The jokes are rare and not that funny when they arrive. A letter will be read on occasion, but they're not worth the wait.

I bought this book to amuse myself while doing yard work. It was truly a waste of my money.

yawner

I'd never heard of the author before reading the book, but chose it because I liked the premise of building the story around letters to his mom. His childhood wasn't wildly dysfunctional enough to make for a great story ( like 'Running with Scissors' or ' The Glass Castle') and when it comes to writing, let's just say he's no Michael Perry, who can make you laugh out loud on one page and move you to tears on the next. If I was already a fan of Greg Fitzsimmons, I might have liked the book more.

Waste of time

Got about half way through. I'm not familiar with Greg Fitzsimmons, and now, really not interested in becoming familiar with him.

The first half of the book, he goes on and on about what an ass he was growing up, but not in a fun way.

He is also proof that authors should not read their own writing. Very annoying voice, very annoying story.

Mostly sophomoric and tedious

I'd seen Greg Ftzsimmons do standup and thought he was pretty funny, so I decided to try the book. Big mistake. It's basically a seemingly endless narrative of unfunny bad behavior with an occasional chuckle. Not worth my time to finish it.

Sort of funny, but often boring.

Would you try another book from Greg Fitzsimmons and/or the narrators?

Yeah, maybe.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I listened to Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, which is also a memoir about a self destructive alcoholic family. I guess I'm stuck in a bit of rut in that regard. If you want to listen to something in this genre I recommend Alexie's book.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The author is a professional comedian, so he does a great job reading it.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It has some funny parts. Probably the best part is at the end where he talks about his daughter.

Any additional comments?

It seems often that comedians are really serious underneath and this book is mostly about serious self analysis. And so it is unfortunately boring. There are very few jokes, but there are a few funny stories. I wish he had more of his stand up in it to break it up. I was mostly bored and probably wouldn't have made it through except that I had a six hour flight and nothing else to listen to.

Who Cares?

Not funny and never heard of him. The constant Irish references were tiresome. He sounds like he was a really rotten kid and didn't cultivate any likeability by telling us. If I'd paid more than a few dollars for this dud, I would've returned it.

tired old material from 1950s

tried to enjoy it but stories are updates of stories all told before by more interesting folks

Unfunny

If you think juvenile disrespect,
stealing, vandalism, and drugging are just merry pranks then this is the book for you. Kids like he was are one of the reasons why today’s schools are failing and most teachers have learned to hate their jobs. My profound hope is that his kids follow in his reccommeded foot steps that he is so proud of.