Thank you so much NetGalley, Danny Pellegrino & Sourcebook for an advance copy of this! 

I have been a fan of Danny Pellegrino for many years. I actually was planning on seeing & meeting him on his "Everything Iconic" Tour when it came through Philadelphia in of March 2020. My date was March 25th and as you know approx 10 days prior the world shut down.  So I hope to one day get to see him again when it is safe to do so. 

He always unlocks memories from my childhood in his posts and his Bravo related memes just always make me laugh. Then listening to him on his podcast, I felt so connected with him and his stories so when he announced that he was writing a book, it felt like the perfect match. 

My husband can attest to this that I would be reading this book at night in bed and I would have tears in my eyes from laughing so hard at the stories. 

The collection of short stories range from pop culture moments (the chapter on Jessica Simpson's yellow shawl had me in tears) to personal stories involving his family members (including memorable trip to Disney World and Kohls). 

One of the stories was likely Danny's most personal item to write - in "Sun Will Rise" he documents the time when he was at his lowest point and was severely depressed. He had gone to Disneyland and in the photos; you could not tell that he was broken inside. I am so thankful that he is still here and shared his story. 

The chapter that I resonated with on a person level fell under "A Star Is...in the Theater?" After sharing a story where he thought his boyfriend surprised him with a happy birthday greeting from celebs, he went on to talk about feeling if he has done enough with his life. I am approaching 35 which some could say is "midlife" and I question many things. I am not near where I thought I would be by now and with social media it is hard not to compare where you are to where someone else you know is.   This is a rather long quote but it really was poignant to me: 

"I spend the days and week before wondering if I’m metaphorically behind in life. Did I accomplish all the things I wanted to by the age I’m at? No. Is my life set up the way I hoped it would be by this age? Never. Sometimes I feel like Super Mario in one of the water levels, frantically paddling through, dodging the devil fish and occasionally gasping for air. I’m sure everyone feels this way, but looking around in your thirties and seeing old friends and family on social media with their fancy houses and babies, it’s hard not to feel less than. Less than because I don’t own a house, less than because I have no kids, and less than because I don’t have abs. I feel judged by my peers, and all the while I’m scrolling IG and judging the celebrities on my feed with a leftover Roadside Slider from the Cheesecake Factory in my free hand. It’s a vicious circle of judgement." 

I just loved everything about this book & I have not laughed this hard in so long and especially have never read anything so funny. So thank you Danny for the belly laughs. 
 
 I am so proud to be a fan of Danny's and I cannot wait to see what other goals he crosses off his list. 

Also how can you not be mad when he had a whole acknowledgment section dedicated to his favorite day time hosts including STICK STICKLEY! What an icon! 

PS - I am breaking my rule of not rating Non Fiction books because I loved this one so much.