Faith:

I liked you before I read this book, and I like you even more now. I've always enjoyed your humor on my favorite NPR program, "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me." I know that you'll like it that I said I like you, because you're an "approval junkie". I get it. I can fall into that same trap on occasion . In fact, I first picked up your book because I thought you might be preaching some sort of "you are enough" message. You didn't (although you share some awesome stories about how your mom had this philosophy). Instead you gave me, and all other readers, some hilarious -- and heartfelt -- insights into life.

As you say, "when it comes down to it, we all just want to hear stories," and yours are terrific. One of my favorites is "On the Fringe: A Cautionary Tale" about your experience with lash extensions. I was rolling on the floor with laughter throughout the entire essay. I *totally* get it! "At the root of it all, I just wanted to be naturally pretty. Of course it makes no rational sense that fake eyelashes made me feel naturally pretty, but they did." And your confession that "I'm a little afraid to tally exactly how much I spent on my lashes during that time Let's just say that I could have kept a small public radio station in one of the Dakotas from having to do pledge drives for a year." I've barely resisted the siren song of lash extensions myself (only because I know it's like a drug addiction -- once you start, it's hard to stop), but I'm going to plead the 5th when asked about my eyelash product budget at Sephora.

Your combination of heart and humor when speaking about your relationship with your father (and your shared love of books!) brought a little tear to my eye. You're also right on the money when you say that an honest parenting book should be titled "This Shit is Hard as Shit".

I'm going to recommend your book to the bold, smart, funny women I know.

4 enthusiastic stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.



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I'm giving this a 3 because I feel like the title was misleading. it ended up being a memoir directed towards moms, moms to be than people seeking approval or looking for funny stories about being a people pleaser. I liked some of the chapters and found faith salie to give a lot of good advice but I feel like the title should be changed and there should be a different target audience. that being said I probably wouldn't have read it. ( )

I'm giving this a 3 because I feel like the title was misleading. it ended up being a memoir directed towards moms, moms to be than people seeking approval or looking for funny stories about being a people pleaser. I liked some of the chapters and found faith salie to give a lot of good advice but I feel like the title should be changed and there should be a different target audience. that being said I probably wouldn't have read it. ( )

2.5 stars. This has to be it for me on memoir narrated by the author for a while. I like Salie as a panelist on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. I didn't get a lot out of this book. ( )

Approval Stand-Up
Review of the Audible Original audiobook edition (March 3, 2022) narrated by the author, based on her memoir "Approval Junkie: My Heartfelt (and Occasionally Inappropriate) Quest to Please Just about Everyone, and Ultimately Myself" (2016)

This was the lightest of the recent March 2022 batch of Audible Theater releases. I didn't know the narrator's work previously, but she certainly was an enthusiastic performer of what is basically a stand-up routine adaptation of her own biography / memoir. The recorded performance comes from the show's November to December 2021 run at Audible's Minetta Lane Theater in New York City.

Background on the show can be read at Broadway World.
A review can be read at the New York Times.

Trivia and Link
See image at https://www.audible.com/blog/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ctfassets.net%...
Teaser image of the 6 new Audible Theater audiobook releases on March 3, 2022. Image sourced from Audible. ( )