Geekscape Book Review: You’re Not Doing It Right By Michael Ian Black
On the threshold of forty most men would inevitably find themselves crumbling under the weight that is a mid-life crises. Michael Ian Black however uses this milestone as a means of evaluating his life thus far, and unlike his demographic counterparts it is done without measuring his life in terms of youth squandered. He retrospects his life in search of an answer to one question. How exactly did he get to this point in his life?
What follows next is Michael Ian Blacks newest book You’re Not Doing It Right the journey into adulthood as told with the frankness and sincerity only allowed by one who truly understands and loves his subject material: By subject material meaning his family, though I’m sure he loves himself as well. Actually he may in fact love himself more so then his family, or so it seems at times in the book through some of his descriptions and accounts of interactions with the aforementioned parties (for example his use of “cocktail wieners” while describing his wife in the chapter “I Hate My Baby” made me cringe and laugh simultaneously)
You’re Not Doing It Right is most easily described as a memoir (by me, the book publisher and by the technical definition of the word according to Webster’s so it must be true; though I wish I could find a more fitting word that doesn’t come across so decidedly french and pretentious). Throughout the book Michael Ian Black tracks his life as told in a series of events that are allowed to unfold in their own chapters, by following this format Michael Ian Black has created a novel that builds upon itself freely and comes across refreshingly accessible.
You’re Not Doing It Right is written with the wit and comedy that one would come to expect from someone who has made a career out of making others laugh. Surprisingly to some however may be Michael Ian Black ability to be his funniest when he is just being honest with his audience. Allowing them a rare glimpse at the man behind the stage persona built for the public eye.
Chapters like “I Hate My Baby” are told with such brutal honesty you can’t help but find yourself laughing while completely relating to the situation he is found himself in, even if you have never been in that particular situation yourself. As a whole the book reads this way a lot. If viewed simply as a snapshot some chapters should based on subject matter alone be more accessible then others. For instance not everyone will have had a direct experiences like those described in the chapter “Dead Dad Kid” where the author talks about his experience with the death of his father. His ability to write chapters like this with such clear prose of emotion it affords the reader the chance to enter the situation themselves; not as a third party to a tale retold in hindsight but as a guest embraced lovingly by the moment itself.
Full of laughs and heartfelt sentiment from start to finish I would recommend this book to anyone who is married, has kids, or hopes to someday be a member of one or both of the previous parties (aka that’s a recommendation to everyone if you couldn’t figure that out for yourself).
