AGORAFABULOUS!: A VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL AUTHOR'S POST AND AUTOGRAPHED GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED

AGORAFABULOUS!

Dispatches From My Bedroom

BY SARA BENINCASA 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In Boston, a college student fears leaving her own room—even to use the toilet. In Pennsylvania, a meek personal assistant finally confronts a perpetually enraged gay spiritual guru. In Texas, a rookie high school teacher deals with her male student’s unusually, er, hard personal problem. Sara Benincasa has been that terrified student, that embattled employee, that confused teacher—and so much more. Her hilarious memoir chronicles her attempts to forge a wonderfully weird adulthood in the midst of her lifelong struggle with agoraphobia, depression, and unruly hair.

Relatable, unpretentious, and unsentimental, Agorafabulous! celebrates eccentricity, resilience, and the power of humor to light up even the darkest corners of our lives. (There are also some sexy parts, but they’re really awkward. Like really, really awkward.)

Comedian, writer, blogger, radio and podcast host, and YouTube sensation, Sara Benincasa bravely and outrageously brings us “Dispatches from My Bedroom” with Agorafabulous! One of the funniest and most poignant books ever written about a mental illness, Agorafabulous! is a hilarious, raw, and unforgettable account of how a terrified young woman, literally trapped by her own imagination, evolved into a (relatively) high-functioning professional smartass. Down to earth and seriously funny, Benincasa’s no-holds-barred revelations offer readers the politically incorrect hilarity they heartily crave, yet is so often missing from your typical, weepy, and redemptive personal memoir.

CRITICAL PRAISE FOR AGORAFABULOUS!:

“Agorafabulous! is laugh-out loud funny, even as it’s taking on deadly serious issues.”

— Feministing.com

“Funny and unflinchingly honest…. Benincasa discovers her gift for comedy and storytelling, and finds tranquility.”

— Publishers Weekly

“A blisteringly funny yet affecting debut memoir about a young woman’s struggle to overcome panic disorder and agoraphobia. Comedian Benincasa recounts her adolescent devolution into a ‘full-on, obsessive, cowering, trembling agoraphobe’ [who] discover[s], by accident, the healing power of stand-up comedy. Fabulously quirky and outrageous.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Hilarious. . . . With expert pacing, the stand-up comic mixes humor and poignant anecdotes from her teen, college, and young adult life. As her empowering tale makes clear, she survives and thrives (with a little help from family, friends, and Prozac).”

— Booklist

“Sara’s story of overcoming a debilitating fear is told with such honesty and hilarity that all I want to do now is hang out with her in a tiny room and not let her leave until she tells me more stories.”

— Sarah Colonna, author of Life as I Blow It

“If I ever get thrown in a mental institution, my only hope would be having Sara as a cellmate. Her funny and poignant perspective makes Agorafabulous! a stellar debut.”

— Julie Klam, author of You Had Me at Woof

“Sara’s comedy is uplifting, deeply personal, and very funny. As difficult as her agoraphobia is to manage, she’s pulled through it beautifully. Agorafabulous! manages to make you laugh even as she’s peeing into cereal bowls and hiding them under her bed.”

— Rob Delaney, comedian and columnist, Vice magazine

“With storytelling that is hilarious, honest, raw, and absurd, Agorafabulous! puts you in the body and mind of an extraordinary individual who accepts and embraces her full self.”

— Baratunde Thurston, author of How to Be Black

“Sara’s blunt and quirkily humorous take on the crippling anxiety that held her hostage in her own home will have you laughing out loud one minute and wanting to hug her the next.”

— Kambri Crews, author of Burn Down the Ground: A Memoir 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sara Benincasa is an award-winning comedian, writer, blogger, and podcast host as well as the writer and star of the one-woman show Agorafabulous! She frequently contributes opinion pieces to CNN.com and was a citizen-journalist for the 2008 MTV News Choose or Lose Street Team. She hosts the Web series Gettin’ Wet with Sara Benincasa and the popular podcast Sex and Other Human Activities. She travels the country to speak about mental illness and women’s issues at universities and conferences. She lives in New York City.

For a more in depth "bio" on Sara Benincasa, visit her website HERE.  

AUTHOR SARA BENINCASA'S VALENTINE'S DAY POST:

5 Reasons Books Make the Best Valentines

I've spent a fair number of Valentine's Days with gentleman callers, and have even scored a few gifts over the years. Maybe I'm biased because my own book, Agorafabulous!: Dispatches From My Bedroom, comes out on Valentine's Day this year, but it recently occurred to me that a book would make the best possible present for the most romantic day of the year. Here's why.

1.)  It's incredibly sexy. I mean, duh. Is there anything hotter than a guy who reads? How about a guy who reads Pablo Neruda's love poems, realizes they're the perfect aphrodisiac, purchases a volume of them, wraps it in pink and red paper and presents it to a swooning lady love?

2.)  It's incredibly affordable. Diamonds are boring and often come from ethically suspect sources. Chocolate makes you fat and sluggish. Books have the potential to make you smarter, more interesting, fitter, richer, and better in bed! At the very least, a good read will improve your dinner party conversation.

3.)  It lasts forever. Or at least for the rest of your natural life, which is more than I can say for some stinky pile of flowers or some soon-to-be stale red velvet cake.

4.)  It won't leave you with a headache in the morning. Reading a book is an inherently good choice, and while its content may vary, the book itself can't make you do crazy things. A bottle of champagne, on the other hand…that's a different (and potentially far more salacious) story.

5.)  It’ll help you weed out an unsuitable suitor. Two words: “The Fountainhead.” You’re welcome.

Now go forth and get some! (Books, that is.) And a happy, happy Valentine’s Day to you.

If you would like to read an excerpt from AGORAGABULOUS! follow this link HERE!

 
  GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO KIMBERLY AND THE GOOD FOLKS
AT HARPER COLLINS, I HAVE A FABULOUS
VALENTINE TREAT FOR ONE LUCKY WINNER:
AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THIS HILARIOUS
AND HEART FELT BOOK BY SARA BENINCASA

 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO 
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE BOOK, AGORAFABULOUS! DISPATCHES FROM MY BEDROOM, THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON AUTHOR SARA BENINCASA'S GUEST POST ON "5 REASONS BOOKS MAKE THE BEST VALENTINES"

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT SARA BENINCASA 'S WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A CURRENT GIVEAWAY THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES

 

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT

6 PM, EST, FEBRUARY 29

GOOD LUCK!