The New York Times Book Review - Jason Zinoman
[Carlin's] work was cerebral, rarely delving into his personal life, which makes the sensitively observed portrait…seem like an introduction to an old friend. It offers a history of his career and his life from the perspective of a devoted but cleareyed daughter, but is most interesting as a character portrait…Kelly writes about the family dynamics unblinkingly, and while the book is clearly a deeply felt love letter to her dad, there are hints of the dark side of being raised by a celebrity truth-teller.
Publishers Weekly
05/11/2015
The home life of legendary countercultural comedian George Carlin was a barrel of laughs, drugs, and dysfunctions, according to this wry, raw memoir by his only child. Kelly Carlin, a radio host and monologist, recounts her parents’ devotion to booze, weed, cocaine, and pills; their multiple arrests for obscenity, drug possession, and DUI; and her mother’s near-death from alcoholism. Carlin also describes the electric aura of fame surrounding her father and the shadow it threw on her and her mother, as well as his miscellaneous psychotic breaks, including the time George urgently warned family and friends that the sun had exploded. The legacy for the author was an incredibly lax upbringing, her own epic substance abuse (in high school her dad happily gave her money to buy pot), ill-considered relationships, crippling panic attacks, and a feckless adulthood spent nibbling at the edges of the entertainment industry. Carlin’s absorption in herself and her family melodrama is intense; the narrative is full of neediness, narcissism, and name dropping—“Nothing could possibly top having sex with Leif Garrett in Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett’s bed”—and her accounts of her parent’s funerary rites drag on for chapters. Still, she captures the wackiness of celebrity-hood, and pens a vivid portrait of her parents, with acerbic wit and real pathos. Agent: Eddie Pietzak, Renaissance. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
[A] sensitively observed portrait...Kelly writes about the family dynamics unblinkingly, and while the book is clearly a deeply felt love letter to her dad, there are hints of the dark side of being raised by a celebrity truth-teller.” —New York Times Book Review
“There are a lot of nights I still wish I could sit next to George and talk; this is the next best thing. Wonderful read.” —Jon Stewart
“Entertaining and enlightening!” —The Washington Post
“It is written in the DNA of a Carlin, honest, biting, savage, funny, sad, dark, and profound…Hold on; like George Carlin, this book gives you a hell of a ride.” —Lewis Black
“Kelly's stories are hilarious and so personal, at times felt like I was reading her diary. For anyone that's has ever not been sure who they are, this book is for you.” —Jay Mohr
“As a fan, this book is essential. As a comic, this book is profound.” —Margaret Cho
“Kelly Carlin shines a light on George Carlin, and gives great insight into a man who was a hero to many, but a father to one.” —Bill Maher
“Highly readable... Told with candor, humor, and good L.A. gossip..., the tale of Carlin's journey... is one of trauma well told and triumph well earned.” —Playboy
“Kelly tells a much-needed, revealing story about what it means to grow up in the shadow of fame.” —Booklist
“A brave and, naturally, hilarious book.” —Dana Gould
“Filled with wit, charm, and genuine, if not extraordinary prose. Bravo, Kelly!” —Kevin Pollak
“Kelly Carlin has humanized her father, in a way that doesn't hold back and through her brilliant writing, brings him to life in a whole new way.” —Lizz Winstead
“The daughter of the great comedian speaks: funny and moving.” —Robert Klein
“A heartwarming, hysterical read!” —Kevin Smith
“A must for fans who want to understand the legend behind the mic” —Mother Jones
“A funny, honest, and compassionate account of growing up with a master of comedy.” —Kirkus Reviews
“An inspiring and beautiful read.” —Paul Reiser
Kirkus Reviews
2015-05-06
George Carlin's daughter offers an intimate look at her life growing up with a comedy legend. Kelly Carlin was the only child of a father who started doing stand-up "on the stoops on his block, imitating the priests, cops and shopkeepers of [his New York City] neighborhood." By the time she was 3, the family moved from Manhattan to Hollywood, where her father began to taste the success he had always dreamed of. But notoriety had its price. Carlin and her mother, Brenda, were often alone while George was out on the road performing. Brenda began to turn to alcohol and drugs to assuage the pain of separation and—in accordance with her husband's wishes—of being unable to seek a life and career outside the home. Tired of being a "performing monkey" who entertained without touching on what he considered to be the truths of his times, George outgrew his early image as a clean-cut performer. By the early 1970s, he was routinely dropping acid, ingesting "ridiculous amounts of cocaine" and openly challenging the establishment with fiercely provocative comedy. Meanwhile, the Carlin household descended into chaos. Brought up without a clear sense of herself, the directionless author became involved in abusive relationships, a pattern she broke only after deciding to return to college in her late 20s. From that moment on, her "poor Hollywood rich kid" story evolves into an even more compelling one about a woman who struggles to come to terms with the parents she loved but whose choices and permissiveness caused her to stumble as a young adult. Without casting blame on either parent, Carlin emerges from the troubled shadow of her family. She becomes a self-aware woman able to appreciate the contributions both made to her life and—in the case of her father, the comedic "god you could smoke a joint with"—to the world. A funny, honest, and compassionate account of growing up with a master of comedy.
