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I SEE YOU MADE AN EFFORT
Compliments, Indignities, and Survival Stories from the Edge of 50
Annabelle Gurwitch
Annabelle Gurwitch—the humorist The Washington
Post calls “hilarious” and O, The Oprah Magazine “slyly
subversive”—returns with a wickedly funny new book
chronicling the vicissitudes of turning 50.
From the coauthor (with her husband) of You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up, actress
and funnywoman Gurwitch now chronicles the indignities faced by femmes d’un
certain age. Whether falling in lust at the Genius bar, navigating the extensive—and
treacherously expensive—antiaging offerings at a department-store beauty counter,
coping with the assisted suicide of her best friend, negotiating the ins and outs of
acceptable behavior with her teenage kid, the thudding financial reality of the “nevertirement”
generation that leads her to petty theft, Gurwitch proves a smart and
hilarious writer in her prime (in so many ways). Is this the beginning of the Eileen
Fisher years? Where does one conduct an affair with a younger man? Is 50 the new
40? Or is 50 still 50?
Scorchingly honest, surreally and riotously funny, Gurwitch’s I See You Made an
Effort is the ultimate coming-of-middle-age story and a must-read for women of all
ages. Reading glasses not included.
✦ You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (a 2011 Jewish Book Council selection) is a theatrical
production now in its third national tour. Gurwitch’s comedic memoir, Fired!, about
being fired by Woody Allen, became an acclaimed documentary.
EXCERPT | Every week, from the day I turned forty-nine, solicitations from AARP started
appearing in my email inbox. The couple pictured in those emails is dressed in matching
cotton pastel sweaters and pleated khaki Dockers. The man has his arms encircling the
woman’s waist. Is he propping her up because she’s suffering from osteoporosis, or helpfully
disguising her muffin top? The expressions on their faces can only be described as “resigned.”
The entire outfit screams, “Here, take my libido and hold it for the rest of my life, which won’t
last much longer anyway.” At a glance, I thought the email might be an ad for white-collar
prison uniforms.
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