My Life as a Goddess

A Memoir through (Un)Popular Culture

By: Guy Branum, Mindy Kaling - foreword

Narrated by: Guy Branum, Mindy Kaling - foreword

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the vein of New York Times best sellers Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling and We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby, a collection of side-splitting and illuminating essays by the popular stand-up comedian, alum of Chelsea Lately and The Mindy Project, and host of truTV’s Talk Show the Game Show.

From a young age, Guy Branum always felt as if he were on the outside looking in. 

Self-taught, introspective, and from a stiflingly boring farm town, he couldn’t relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the sad, strange, lonely outcasts in history who had come before him, and he started to feel hope. 

In this collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley - and stirring up controversy in a newspaper column that led to a run‑in with the Secret Service. He recounts the pitfalls of being typecast as the “Sassy Gay Friend”, and how, after taking a wrong turn in life (i.e. law school), he found stand‑up comedy and artistic freedom. He analyzes society’s calculated deprivation of personhood from fat people, and how, though it’s taken him a while to accept who he is, he has learned that with a little patience and a lot of humor, self-acceptance is possible. 

Written with Guy’s characteristic blend of wit, guile, and rumination, My Life as a Goddess is an unforgettable and deeply moving book by one of today’s most endearing and galvanizing voices in comedy.

©2018 Guy Branum (P)2018 Simon & Schuster

Perfect

Guy Branum is a rarity for me- I find him delightful and that’s not a word I generally use, but I can’t think of a more appropriate term. It’s not that he’s intelligent or funny (although he is certainly both of those things), it’s his ability to see himself reflected in various bits of pop culture and present it as insight that’s broadly applicable and relatable to everyone.

My Life as a Goddess is an entire book of those insights presented as a series of essays. It is laugh out loud, accidentally snort in your office with your headphones on funny. It’s also deeply touching in parts, mostly due to Branum’s willingness to be so honest and self-revealing without ever putting himself down.

I love this book. I love it so much I just want to run around telling my friends to read (or listen to) it; so much I almost finished the entire thing in one stretch. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys pop culture, comedic memoirs, and/or LGBTQ stories. It’s worth the credit.

Smart

This was a remarkable memoir. It’s smart, sassy, and only made me tear up, not ugly cry. That is nice because I walk the dog while I listen. That can get awkward. It mostly made me laugh. Branum likes words, language, and storytelling. He’s good at talking about all these things. I’m sad it’s over. At least he has a podcast I can go back to.

Best!

Wonderful and perfect in every way. Guy has to be the smartest homosexual in the world. But he's not stuck up about it.

A salve for my little gay heart.

I came upon this because Guy was funny on Lovett or Leave It, I kept listening to it because his small-town California experience and tense relationship with his father mirrored my experiences. It's a good book if you're queer and alone and want to learn what a delta is and how it relates to the punjabi as much as you wanna hear that someone just as alone as you found fulfillment. It's a great book regardless.

A great listen from a talented comedian

I started this audiobook with little expectation. I listened weekly to Guy on podcast Pop Rocket and truly enjoyed his voice and insights (even when they flew over my head). The same can be said about this audiobook. There were many times I laughed out loud, shook my head in agreement to some witty insight that I whole heartedly agreed with, and once even tested up at a poignant part in his life that I found more cuttingly relatable than I was prepared to deal with.
I found this book entertaining, insightful, sometimes catty, heartfelt, and sooooo very gay!

A lovely, fun read

This is a smart, funny, moving memoir from a wonderful writer/performer. It's an insightful book that took surprising turns with lots of substance. In parts it's more introspective and gusty, while in other parts its sheer pop fun -- overall there's a great balance and I definitely recommend it!

EXCELLENT!

This book is deeply moving loving and entertaining while being educational at the same time !

funny and delightful!

Guy was an absolute delight to listen to. His stories are both touching and hilarious.

Marvelous and strange.

An erudite mix of memoir, playful pedantry, and Hollywood tell-all. Also one of the most unabashedly gay books I've ever read. Love this writer for life.

Fantastic. One I will read again.

Admittedly , I’m a huge fan of Guys work. His book surpassed my expectations. All (especially young) queer folks should read this. As a 45 year old fag, a lot of the personal anecdotes spoke to me, and I think it paints a real and honest picture of our generation. Non-queers should also read it, too. I think it can cue in a lot of folks to what (our) specific minority experience is like.

On top of all that, it’s a pure delight. Totally hilarious and sad and honest.

Congrats, Guy, on what I assume was a really monumental reflection and distillation.

5 Stars, and I have t even finished!

I’m only about half way through but I had to leave a review.

So, I had never heard of Guy Barnum before, until he was a guest on the podcast “Food 4 Thot” and I was like this guy is hilarious. He mentioned his book and I just had to find it. I searched it in audible and downloaded it right away. It did not disappoint! It’s funny, clever and very heartfelt! Cannot recommend it enough!

Strikingly resonant

Some of the most heartfelt and generous writing I’ve ever experienced, punctuated with up-tempo Jazz (?) Guy’s warmth and wit is clearly demonstrated through his narration. Although I have finished this now, I don’t think it will leave me for a wile.