I'd Rather Laugh

How to Be Happy Even When Life Has Other Plans for You

By: Linda Richman

Narrated by: Linda Richman

Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

She's a summa cum laude graduate of the School of Hard Knocks, a lecturer at Canyon Ranch (yeah, that fancy spa), and a woman who reaches out to help others by sharing her own incredible story. She's also, believe it or not, the mother-in-law of comedian Mike Myers - and the inspiration for some of his craziest sketches.

The thing that will impress you the most, though, is Linda's string of almost unbelievable losses and setbacks - and the equally unbelievable way she's dealt with them.

How did Linda persevere? She will tell you about the cleaning binges, the loneliness, the relentless spiritual questing, and the all-night sessions with the saddest movies she could find. And then she'll tell you about the healing - how the process slowly revealed itself and how she has used it to heal others.

In this audiobook, Linda offers the type of blunt, no-nonsense advice you probably haven't heard since that bold, brass, always reliable best friend of your youth gave you a breath-of-fresh-air reality check. The truth is, when it comes to facing the worst that life can dish out, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Linda Richman has been there before you.

©2001 by Linda Richman, All Rights Reserved (P)2001 Time Warner AudioBooks, a Division of Time Warner Trade Publishing

Critic reviews

"Linda Richman teaches us that the human spirit is always capable of laughter, even after great sorrow. She is a healer who speaks to the heart as well as a messenger of hope." (Deepak Chopra, author of How to Know God)

bitter sweet, like talking to your mutha

I found listening to this in the authors own voice poignant, and entertaining. She has pearls of wisdom to impart with stories of a life not hoped for and not so unusual. Most people, especially women can relate easily to things she has gone through, and even if you can't, you can glean useful methods of managing many difficult parts of life we all have to face.

Something's Missing

I have owned this book for years I bought it on audible because I wanted to listen to it again and didn't have time to read it. this audible version does not contain every story she tells in the book. It leaves out quite a bit. No one would know that unless they'd read the book. Some of the funniest stories are not in this narrative. It was disappointing because I wanted to hear the entire book and thought that's what I had paid for. I really love her writing and I love the story but this is an abridgment of the original just so you know the book is better in print.

The Worst

Great if you want to waste a few hours listening to the voice of a heavy smoker talk about herself - this is terrible no matter who you are!!

boring...struggled to finish

couldn't complete...too boring. The narrative voice does not captivate me nor does the way the message is being conveyed. Don't recommend.