Overview

From the creator and star of Florida Girls comes a hilarious and profound memoir about family, happiness, and really bad, chronic acne.Despite having dirty-blonde hair and fair skin, Laura Chinn is mixed-race: the daughter of a Black father and a white mother, which on its own makes for some funny and insightful looks at identity. Laura's parents--both Scientologists and nonconformists in myriad ways--divorced early in Laura's childhood, and she spent her teen years ping-ponging back and forth between Clearwater, Florida, and Los Angeles (with an extended stint in Tijuana for good measure).Laura lived alone and raised herself for long periods of time, but don't worry! Her mom's alcoholic boyfriend was always nearby to supervise. She also lost family members to horrific tragedies, started drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes when she was eleven years old, and dropped out of school when she was fifteen, all the while completely obsessed with and scarred by her severe acne condition. This is not a sad story. There is Jell-O wrestling. There is an abnormal amount of dancing. There is information about whether you can drink gallons of sangria while taking unregulated Accutane acquired in Mexico. But mostly there is love, and ultimately there is redemption. Laura shows how with grit, determination, and an openness to the good in the world, we can overcome almost anything to find love, happiness, and acceptance of ourselves, zits and all.

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9781668617403

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Reviews

Brutally honest, hilarious and horrifying. Reading this book was like whispering late-night secrets with a long-lost best friend.-- Jenny Lawson You know how people justify insane horrors by saying, 'It was a different time'? Laura Chinn will transport you to that time. This book is funny and heartbreakingly honest.-- Tina Fey As someone who's known Laura and would beg for more stories of her adolescence, I knew her memoir would be wickedly hilarious. What I was not expecting was to burst into tears while reading it on a very quiet airplane. I laughed and wept my way through Acne as fast as I could to see what could possibly happen next. Laura's unfathomably bizarre life is beautifully told in the most delightful and heart-wrenching way, ultimately leaving me full of gratitude and hope. And a much greater understanding of all of those Florida stereotypes. --Kaitlin Olson Chinn shares deeply personal stories that will make you inappropriately laugh out loud until you are in tears. There also will be times when you will not be able to stop the real tears from flowing in this heart-touching story of self-love and perseverance. --Kym Whitley

Author Information

Laura Chinn has been writing for television for a decade on some very good shows and some very bad shows. She takes credit only for the good ones. She created and starred in Pop TV's Florida Girls and enjoys writing about the unique state of Florida, where she lived as a teenager. She now lives in Los Angeles where she performs improv at the UCB theater and tries to learn how to surf every summer.

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