I'd Rather Laugh: How to Be Happy Even When Life Has Other Plans for You - Hardcover

Richman, Linda

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446526762 ISBN 13: 9780446526760

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2001

Synopsis

The self-described "typical Jewish girl from Long Island" and the most popular speaker at the world-renowned Canyon Ranch Spa presents a tears and laughter guidebook to help readers withstand life's hard knocks. Richman--the basis of the "Saturday Night Live" "Coffee Talk" character developed by her son-in-law, Mike Myers--makes it her mission to get everyone to shake off the blues and make their way back into the world.

About this title

Review:

Remember "Coffee Talk," the Saturday Night Live skit with the Barbara Streisand-loving, constantly verklempt character portrayed by Mike Myers, who encouraged listeners to "talk amongst themselves"? Linda Richman was the inspiration for her. (Myers is her son-in-law; a sharp sense of humor apparently runs in the family.) Like the "Coffee Talk" lady, Richman teaches people how to handle suffering through laughter. She's so good at it that she teaches a seminar on the topic at the posh Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Arizona.

But she speaks from some harrowing experiences. Several friends and relatives have battled cancer. Her 29-year-old son died in a car crash. Her depressed, institutionalized mother died a few days later after falling into a coma (her final words to her daughter: "Linda, you got fat"). In case you're thinking, "Sheesh, how depressing, who wants to read about that stuff?" think again. Her friend Rosie O'Donnell, who wrote the foreword, raves about "Linda-isms." Richman is a modern-day Norman Cousins, but she talks like your best friend--a very witty, resilient friend--offering an inspiring tribute to the power of humor. (Or is it denial?) Heck, what difference does it make, when Richman's "pity party" has you laughing and crying so hard simultaneously?

From AudioFile:

The author lost her father as a child, was raised by a powerfully dysfunctional mother, escaped from a vacuous marriage, and lost her only son to a car accident. Along the way, she was confined to her apartment for 11 years with phobias. After coaxing herself back into the real world and absorbing many motivational tapes and lectures, she became, you guessed it, an inspirational speaker. The resulting book, smoothly abridged in this audio, will urge you to cry when you need to, and to use laughter and trust in yourself when tragedies pile up. The inspiration here is good, though the tragedies may pile up on the listener. T.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0446526762
• ISBN 13: 9780446526760
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240