I'm Just a Person

Tig Notaro

Jun 2016 · HarperCollins

About this eBook

One of America’s most original comedians delivers a darkly funny, wryly observed, and emotionally raw account of her year of death, cancer, and epiphany.

In the span of four months in 2012, Tig Notaro was hospitalized for a debilitating intestinal disease called C. diff, her mother unexpectedly died, she went through a breakup, and then she was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer. Hit with this devastating barrage, Tig took her grief onstage. Days after receiving her cancer diagnosis, she broke new comedic ground, opening an unvarnished set with the words: “Good evening. Hello. I have cancer. How are you? Hi, how are you? Is everybody having a good time? I have cancer.” The set went viral instantly and was ultimately released as Tig’s sophomore album, Live, which sold one hundred thousand units in just six weeks and was later nominated for a Grammy.

Now, the wildly popular star takes stock of that no good, very bad year—a difficult yet astonishing period in which tragedy turned into absurdity and despair transformed into joy. An inspired combination of the deadpan silliness of her comedy and the open-hearted vulnerability that has emerged in the wake of that dire time, I’m Just a Person is a moving and often hilarious look at this very brave, very funny woman’s journey into the darkness and her thrilling return from it.

“Notaro’s story is funny not because it’s true (although it is), but because it’s told by the world-class stand-up with wit and vulnerability.” —O, The Oprah Magazine

Ratings and reviews

This book is so beautiful, and powerful. Tig's story is not new to me and I worried that the book would be more of the same but it's not. It's so much more intimate, so wonderful.

Tig is the person I hope to have the strength of if my boobs ever get cancer <3

About the author

Tig Notaro is an American stand-up comic, writer, actor, and radio contributor. She writes, produces, and stars in the semiautobiographical series One Mississippi for Amazon Studios, where she can also be seen in her recurring role on the critically acclaimed series Transparent. In 2015, her HBO stand-up special premiered along with Tig, the Netflix Original Documentary about her life. Tig remains a favorite on Conan and This American Life, tours internationally, and enjoys bird-watching with her wife, Stephanie, and kitten, Fluff, at their home in Los Angeles.