I’ll Show Myself Out is an exciting new collection of essays by the writer/producer/creator Jessi Klein. Deeply hilarious and brutally honest, these essays on midlife and motherhood are shaped around Klein’s idea that motherhood is a journey much like Joseph Campbell’s “the hero’s journey,” except instead of going out into the world to come home a hero, mothers go inward, finding parts of themselves they didn’t know existed. She writes about the secret inner battles with overwhelm, identity crises, rage, and boredom she experiences while raising her four year-old son, and how there are times she wants nothing more than to flee. And she explains how, even though there are so many obstacles and sacrifices, the sheer bliss of watching a person grow up is worth it all. This may sound like some pretty deep subject matter, but I assure you, these essays are desperately funny. Some of my favorites were “Hair,” in which Klein learns that IT IS NORMAL and BEAUTIFUL and ALLOWED (her caps) for a woman to lose her hair, and “Underwear Sandwich,” in which she shares her surprise at what happens to a body after giving birth. The essays flow together in a continuous timeline, generally following the highs and lows of Klein’s journey through motherhood.

If Klein had a superpower, it would be normalizing things. In her essays, she tells us that it’s okay if you despise car seats, if you can only get your kid to eat bread and cheese, if you’re losing your hair or wear the same stretchy skirt for a year post-childbirth. Her honesty and humor obliterate any possibility of shame, and in a world that expects mothers to be perfect without effort, without help, and without complaint, that’s pretty powerful. On top of that, her stories are downright entertaining; the essays are fairly short and perfectly paced, and made me laugh and cry in equal measure. I’ll Show Myself Out is a fantastic read for anyone, mother or not, and I can’t wait to return to these essays again and again.

I’d recommend this book to…

• Anyone who craves a refreshing, humorous perspective on motherhood (and also on life in general)… it’s similar in tone to Dear Girls by Ali Wong
• Anyone who tends to overthink everything and would love some wise/relatable/comforting company while doing so… it’s similar in theme to Bomb Shelter by Mary Laura Philpott
• Anyone who is looking for a chatty and comic memoir-in-essays… it’s similar in style to I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron