Awkward.: What to Do When Life Makes You Cringe

No One Is Safe from Awkward!

Ending a first date that falls flat. Drunk-texting your boss. Walking in when your roommate is getting it on. Running into the person you just dumped . . . in the grocery store, an hour after it went down.

Awkward bombs can drop anytime, anywhere, and with anyone--people you don't know, people you see occasionally, and people you see every day. They can sneak up on you and explode in the most unexpected of places, so they're basically impossible to avoid.

The vast majority of us don't have the wherewithal to gracefully handle the truly and totally awkward as it unfolds. We only realize what we should have said after the fact--when the damage has already been done and we're a hot mess of embarrassment, red ears, and nervous sweat stains. But author Sam Scholfield has survived more than two decades of embarrassing encounters--and now, in an act of extreme generosity, has set down a wealth of witty comebacks, surefire distraction techniques, and suave evasion strategies so that future generations may take heed and dodge the Awkward Monster before it strikes!

So how do you avoid the epic cluster of drama that can result when awkward situations are handled badly? You read this book.

Sam Scholfield is a frequent contributor to Yahoo.com and has offered her expertise through Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, and The Huffington Post. She has degrees from UCLA in English Literature and Bio-Geography (useful only at trivia nights and for blurting random facts at cocktail parties), dabbles in thinking about maybe training for triathlons, and has recently discovered the stress-relieving joys of zombie video games. She lives in San Francisco with her boyfriend and a houseplant named Bob.

Eliot Lucas has been drawing for as long as he can remember. He holds a BA in graphic design from Northern State University and has worked as a graphic designer since 2007, focusing on print and interactive media and continuing to explore painting and the fine arts. He is the creator of the online comic Whatever (www.whatevercomic.com), which he began in 2001. In his free time, Eliot enjoys acting and has appeared in independent films as well as stage productions. He lives with his cat Phoebe in Aberdeen, South Dakota.