Maria Bamford – Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult

Maria Bamford is highly regarded in the stand-up comedy world. At the same time, her quirky delivery, multi-characters and voices style, and a very open attitude towards her mental issues makes her a bit of an acquired taste. Stand-up wise, Maria Bamford is a comic you grow to like. This make me extremely curious about her autobiographical book Sure I’ll join your cult.

The advantage of the book form for Maria Bamford is it forces her to focus her thoughts on a particular topic at a time even if there is some bleed through from some chapters into another. The book in divided in 3 parts and 23 chapters. Sections and chapters are separated into cults. Part one is the cult of Family, part 2 the cult of fame, and part 3 the cult of mental health care. The chapters within each part respect their headers.

Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult by comic Maria Bamford is an autobiography like none other. There is an openness to what she writes about that I have found in few such books (not that I am an expert in the field). It is very linear in its construction but the chapters themselves sometimes meander a bit.

Though Bamford has experienced some major mental breakdowns, the book itself is not depressing at all. This is because how matter of fact the author is and there is, of course, humor in there.

The darkest chapter is the penultimate one: Obligatory Suicide Disclaimer and you can guess by the title why that is.

If you are looking for an original read or an autobiography like none other, Maria Bamford Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult is worth the money. I would be most curious listening to the audiobook version as it is read by Bamford herself.

Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult
Maria Bamford
Gallery Books 2023
288 pages

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