Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First-Century Parenthood

Drew Magary

May 2013 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

A sharp, funny, and heartfelt memoir about fatherhood and the ups and downs of raising a family in modern America

No one writes about family quite like Drew Magary. The GQ correspondent and Deadspin columnist’s stories about trying to raise a family have attracted millions of readers online. And now he’s finally bringing that unique voice to a memoir. In Someone Could Get Hurt, he reflects on his own parenting experiences to explore the anxiety, rationalizations, compromises, and overpowering love that come with raising children in contemporary America.

In brutally honest and funny stories, Magary reveals how American mothers and fathers cope with being in over their heads (getting drunk while trick-or-treating, watching helplessly as a child defiantly pees in a hotel pool, engaging in role-play with a princess-crazed daughter), and how stepping back can sometimes make all the difference (talking a toddler down from the third story of a netted-in playhouse, allowing children to make little mistakes in the kitchen to keep them from making the bigger ones in life). It’s a celebration of all the surprises—joyful and otherwise—that come with being part of a real family.

In the wake of recent bestsellers that expose how every other culture raises their children better, Someone Could Get Hurt offers a hilarious and heartfelt defense of American child rearing with a glimpse into the genuine love and compassion that accompany the missteps and flawed logic. It’s the story of head lice, almost-dirty words, and flat head syndrome, and a man trying to commit the ultimate act of selflessness in a selfish world.

Ratings and reviews

Drew had me either giggling out loud or with tears in my eyes in almost every chapter (each a short story) of his parenting life. I have never before related more to a book. Thank you Drew!

Really good book that's full of many funny as hell moments and many touching ones as well. Even if you don't have any kids this book is worthwhile to read

A great read. This book is a great look at being a modern day parent. Drew gets its. A must read for fathers old and new.

About the author

Drew Magary is a correspondent for GQ and a columnist for Deadspin and Gawker. He’s also the author of The Night the Lights Went Out, The Hike, the critically acclaimed novel The Postmortal, and Men with Balls: The Professional Athlete’s Handbook. He lives in Maryland with his wife and three kids.