The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo Amy Schumer
Gallery Books Dh102 from Amazon
Amy Schumer is a powerhouse in the entertainment industry, thanks to her Emmy-winning TV series, Inside Amy Schumer, and feature film box-office hit Trainwreck.
A comedian, actress, writer, producer and director, the 35-year-old is now on her way to adding "bestselling author" to her list of achievements, thanks to her new book, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo. Schumer is a talented storyteller. She is known for standing in the spotlight and exposing every corner of her soul with thousands of strangers. It is no surprise, therefore, that her book is packed with hilarious, honest and often vulnerably raw details of her life.
Her self-deprecating essays about her youth reveal a young Amy navigating the tricky waters of adolescence, including new love, lost friendships and the accidental discovery of what the body of an older woman looks like up close and personal.
Readers also get a peek inside Schumer’s “new money” world. She starts by chronicling the better part of a decade during which she hustled at comedy clubs for work to make a name for herself. She notes that her achievements are the result of hard work, never passing up an opportunity to get on a stage, and the ability to poke fun at herself.
Schumer writes that life isn’t all butterflies and rainbows. She talks about how she has faced emotional and physical abuse. Her parents’ divorce was painful, and her father suffers from a debilitating disease. And she will never forget the dreadful night when two young women were killed in a mass shooting while watching her movie at a cinema. As a result, she’s an advocate for raising awareness of domestic abuse and gun violence.
Through all the struggles and pain, however, she has used each experience to help her grow into the version of Amy Schumer that she is supposed to be. Readers will laugh and cry with her, and may be shocked by moments of honesty that result in some uncomfortable details from her life. More importantly, the essays challenge readers to harness their own stories and rest easy in the knowledge that they, like Schumer, are good enough.
Experience the world. Be bold. Love your body. It’s OK to fail and make mistakes. And lower-back tattoos can only make you stronger.
artslife@thenational.ae