Famesick

A Memoir

By: Lena Dunham

Narrated by: Lena Dunham

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this rowdy, frank reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between, the remarkable mind behind the hit series Girls and the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl asks whether fulfilling her creative ambitions has been worth the pain.

For the last decade, as she’s spent countless hours in doctor’s waiting rooms searching for diagnoses, treatments, and relief, being the owner and operator of Lena Dunham’s body has felt, as she puts it, “like towing a wrecked car across town at midnight.” It’s not easy dragging a wrecked car anywhere, much less to the Met Gala while sewn into a gold lamé corset. Or to the set of the hit show that you—as a twenty-five-year-old—are writing, directing, producing, and starring in. Or to the White House, the Golden Globes, or your publicist’s office to discuss the latest internet disaster. But Dunham does it—even if it means interminable hospital stays, vomiting in the bathroom when she’s meant to be meeting Oprah, or terrifying those closest to her—because she can no longer tell the difference between fighting to do what she loves and being a servant to her own ambition. All the while, she is holding out for a love that can withstand her personal and public challenges and, more than anything, yearning to feel like herself again—if only she could remember who that self was.

As Dunham takes us through her journey, tracking her rise to fame—from selling the pilot of Girls to the present—in three acts, it becomes clear that the spotlight casts long shadows, distorting the relationships she once held dear and isolating everyone in its glare. When an endless supply of drugs can’t protect you from pain—and begins to control your every move—being famous doesn’t stand a chance against the darker corners of the human experience.

In Famesick, Dunham asks herself what the cost of fulfilling her dreams has really been, and whether it was worth it. What she finds is deeper than physical relief, and more lasting, as she learns to live with what she can’t change and turn her regrets into wisdom that can carry her forward, as she reconnects to what, and who, she loves.

Critic reviews

“Famesick is a pleasure to consume, its sentences seductive, its rhythms soothing. It leads to a fast read, but the sentences never feel empty. It is the pleasure of reading someone who also actually reads books, not someone who only reads posts or captions, which, in our newly crowned post-literate cultural landscape, feels like a blessing.”—Harper’s Bazaar

“Although most young women are not also writing and directing a series that makes them a household name, Dunham finds a way to hang her experiences on a scaffolding of normal feeling, describing the kinds of nausea and social panic one can experience even without an HBO deal.”—New York Magazine

“Delicious . . . In Famesick, Dunham places PTSD, loss, trauma, fuck-up and body horror at the centre of the story, and describes herself variously as oversensitive, people-pleasing and always lying in bed. And yet, reading and talking to her, one is keenly aware that, alongside this version of Dunham, is the other one: the absolute powerhouse of a woman, steely eyed, tunnel visioned, who pushed through punishing volumes of work at the highest of levels, year after year after year.”—The Guardian

“[Famesick] has a whiff of the old Hollywood tell-all, indie edition, with trash bags for curtains in an Eagle Rock group house.”—The New York Times

“Famesick doesn’t have heroes or villains, just several people trying their best and still failing . . . [Dunham] has learned to give us less of herself, to keep the pieces for her own use instead of our projection.”—Slate

“As someone who has read a truly absurd amount of celebrity memoirs, I can tell you that in rare fashion Dunham goes deep.”—The New York Times Magazine

“A raw and vulnerable look at the intersection of public notoriety and chronic illness.”—Parade

“Dunham contends with her ambition, relationships, and chronic physical and mental illnesses in the way only she can: with ruthless self-deprecation and a healthy dose of humor.”—W Magazine

“Famesick promises to be the kind of book we expect from Dunham: familiar yet surprising, funny yet bittersweet, vulnerable yet brave. For me at least, Dunham has always been the kind of girl who makes me sit up and pay attention, no matter what it is she wants to say.”—Literary Hub

Funny, Familiar and Full of Insight

I’ve loved Girls and Lena since 2012 and all of the humor, vulnerability and dissection of this period of her life kept me unmoved, staring at the wall while simultaneously feeling held by an old dear friend

Juicy but pointless

Very honest, gut-wrenching and surprising. I did not find a transformation arc in the protagonist, little responsability and little to no value to the reader. It’s a juicy revelaing story that leaves me exactly as I started it, unchanged.

Never wanted this book to end

It was perfect. Even if it, did in fact, have to end. Thank you, Lena!

Absolutely Brilliant!

Lena Dunham is a master of words and the ability to story tell to the point where you feel like you’re in the scene. I wasn’t expecting to cry, but I found myself reaching for the tissues several times. A must read.

We love Lena 💕

Lena’s memory and attention to detail are remarkable. If you love Lena, you already know how good the book is. If you don’t know/love Lena, you will by the end of the book. And I think a lottttttttt of women will relate to her health struggles.