Foolish

Tales of Assimilation, Determination, and Humiliation

By: Sarah Cooper

Narrated by: Sarah Cooper

In this hilariously revealing debut memoir, comedian Sarah Cooper charts her rise from lip-synching in church to lip-synching the president, and all the dad issues she collected along the way.

As the youngest of four in a tight-knit Jamaican family, Cooper cut her teeth in the mean cornfields of suburban Maryland. Soon she became a charmingly neurotic woman trying to break her worst patterns and reclaim her linen closet. From an early obsession with hair bands to her struggle to escape the immigrant-to-basic-bitch pipeline to her use of the Internet as a marriage counselor (after being fired by two real ones) and the curse of her TED Talk vibe, Cooper invites us to share in her triumphs and humiliations as she tries (and fails) to balance her own dreams with the American dream.

With determination and wit, Cooper mines a lifetime of oppressive perfectionism for your laughter and enjoyment, as she moves from tech to comedy, marriage to divorce, smart to foolish, while proving once and for all that being foolish is actually the smartest thing you can do.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF with a chapter list.

Critic reviews

"Cooper, a recently ascended star having utilized the internet to get famous with her pointed, withering, performance-based political satire, possesses a direct and fierce comic voice, and in her previous books, she took down cultural dinosaurs. Here, she explores, thoroughly examines, and mocks herself, her past, and her motivations and shows how you too can find your voice, comic or otherwise, and use it to exorcise your demons." —Vulture

“[An] insightful memoir in which [Cooper] recounts her roller coaster journey in Hollywood, in addition to stories about growing up in an immigrant Jamaican family, her years working in tech and her messy love life…the ups and down are depicted in Foolish with a snappy, self-deprecating wit.” —Los Angeles Times

“The expert writer melds the personal, professional, and embarrassing as she walks readers through all of it…all served with a sense of honesty and humor, and readers will come away from the memoir feeling a special kind of kinship with Cooper.” —Shondaland

“The way Sarah Cooper describes her life before and after Trump is a treasure, and her book is charming, funny, self-deprecating, and a sure sign she will never need to lip-synch Trump again. Unfortunate for us, but best for her.” —Air Mail

"From lip-synching in church to lip-synching the president (and all the dad issues she collected along the way), Sarah Cooper reveals her crazy life path in this touching and funny memoir." —Ebony

"With comic finesse and a self-awareness that is neither aggrandizing nor deprecating, Cooper chronicles her experiences from high school drama classes, to office conference rooms, to TikTok glory and the doors it opened... A delightful collection of essays that are both funny and revealing." —Kirkus

“[A] witty memoir-in-essays from comedian Cooper…she catalogs her difficulties juggling a passion for comedy with a career in tech, her unsuccessful stabs at romance…and eventually, her quest to convert her viral social media videos into a bona fide entertainment career. Throughout, Cooper is unfailingly funny and consistently relatable. This is sure to please Cooper’s fans and likely to net her new ones.” —Publishers Weekly

“Delightful, complicated." —Jerry Seinfeld

“Sarah is the funniest, smartest person I know and this book is another triumph.” —Amy Schumer

"An emotional buffet of hilarity, you’ll just keep going back for more.” —Michelle Buteau

"Sarah’s many talents continue to infuriate me." —Jim Gaffigan

Utterly enjoyable

LOL funny, excellent audio performance. Reminiscent of listening to a stand up routine. Relatable. Endearing. Loved it

Authentic and Fun (as expected)

My family and I fell in love with Sarah on Tik Tok during the pandemic. This audible doesn’t disappoint. I lol’d at least once every 10 minutes. She’s smart, cute, sexy, wise and awesomely, imperfectly real.

So much comedic talent!

Sarah helped get me through the Trump years and I’m so happy to see her career take off in multiple directions. I can’t wait to see what is next for her.

Hysterical

I liked this memoir enough to come up with the 15 required words, so as to leave a 5 star review. That says a lot.

Love Sarah!

I do love Sarah and her story-telling skills. Witty and smart. I’m just confused. Is this just a do-over of her first book? I just started listening and so far am hearing the same stories we heard in the first book.