My Life As A Goddess by Guy Branum

book review
Written By TG

From a young age, Guy Branum always felt as if he were on the outside looking in.

Self-taught, introspective, and from a stiflingly boring farm town, he couldn’t relate to his neighbors. While other boys played outside, he stayed indoors reading Greek mythology. And being gay and overweight, he got used to diminishing himself. But little by little, he started learning from all the sad, strange, lonely outcasts in history who had come before him, and he started to feel hope.

In this collection of personal essays, Guy talks about finding a sense of belonging at Berkeley—and stirring up controversy in a newspaper column that led to a run‑in with the Secret Service. He recounts the pitfalls of being typecast as the “Sassy Gay Friend,” and how, after taking a wrong turn in life (i.e. law school), he found stand‑up comedy and artistic freedom. He analyzes society’s calculated deprivation of personhood from fat people, and how, though it’s taken him a while to accept who he is, he has learned that with a little patience and a lot of humor, self-acceptance is possible.

Written with Guy’s characteristic blend of wit, guile, and rumination, My Life as a Goddess is an unforgettable and deeply moving book by one of today’s most endearing and galvanizing voices in comedy.






I bought this book from one of my local indie bookshops because I had seen Guy Branum on Conan's late-night talk show promoting his book. Guy was funny, plus he looked so familiar to me.

I was delightfully surprised by how much I loved this book, Guy, and his brain.  Guy is witty, poignant, and snarky when talking about events in his life. While this book is a memoir, it's told in an essay-collection format. I think that helps because while it does run consecutively, Guy takes little side roads to explain moments more deeply. 


The back cover, which features blurbs from other comedians.




I recognized Guy from television...but mostly from his appearances on Chelsea Handler's panel. Chelsea had a show on E! (before Netflix), and part of the show was a segment about news or gossip with a panel of comedians. Nothing against Chelsea, but I always liked her panel a bit better than anything else on the show. The panel was chockablock full of witty, fast, and amusing people. Guy was often a part of the panel. He has also done work (writing and on-screen) for shows related to tech/games (G4), Punk'd, Joan Rivers, and Mindy Kaling. 

Guy covers his work life throughout the book; he has worked with Aparna Nancherla and Billy Eichner and knows other writers who could fill a person with envy. He's brutally honest about his exit from Chelsea Handler's show and the downsides of working with Joan Rivers, as well as writing for a bunch of teenage boys on G4. I was floored by the number of people that can be on hand to work comedy lines for one comic...I don't know why it never occurred to me. I understood that writers for a television show were involved, but I had no idea that Joan Rivers had a team as well. 



​Guy begins his book with his childhood in Yuba City, California, his family, and how he didn't fit in with the city or his family. Guy goes to college at Berkeley and begins to find his identity. He eventually joins the campus political arena, as well as the comedy/newspaper scene.

While at Berkeley, Guy writes an essay about Stanford, elitism (and mentions Chelsea Clinton), and why this should be destroyed. This was in the chapter titled, "Joan Didion Slept Here." One of the lines in his essay gained national attention because some people believed it was a targeted threat against Chelsea Clinton. I would hate to be the child of the president because your life is not your own again...sure, all sorts of privilege, but you can't have a crazy night on the town without some news agency coming for you.  Anyways, the Secret Service showed up at his door to see if he was a crazed bomber. This chapter was a bit jarring to me, to be honest, and I’m not entirely sure why.

Guy mentions his book editor, Rakesh Satyal (who has written a book titled No One Can Pronounce My Name...which is on my TBR pile) in the same section about having to shoulder past the Extra News/gossip crew to make it to Barnes and Noble in the Galleria. Esquire has an excerpt from his book where he explains why Ann Bancroft's character in The Graduate was radical.

One of the most genuine moments in the book is when Guy recounts his coming-out story to his parents. It's heartbreaking (but inspiring) and happened when he was in law school. Although it's not the main point of his book, he mentions it because it's a pivotal moment in his life. Then he talks about the after. 


One of the chapters that stayed with me is when Guy seems to go off on a tangent about Canada. Living in the United States, I received a brief overview of Canadian history in school, so I loved the intricacy of this chapter. The chapter concludes with an explanation that you've been reading a history of Canada, but also an account of Guy's relationship with a family member.  If Guy decided to write a history book with his humor and wit, I'd be first in line.

Guy spends the end of the book talking about his career in writing, comedy, and television/movies. Other than Chelsea Lately (Chelsea Handler), Guy has worked with Joan Rivers (Fashion Police), Punked, G4, Lisa Kudrow, and The Mindy Project (one of the most powerful writing rooms I've seen). Some of his jobs were not great, some of the people he worked with were not the best, but others were just amazing.

I enjoyed the humor, the snark, and the education (especially about Canada!).  This is a well-written book, informative, witty, and self-reflective. I gave it five stars, and it's my favorite 'comedy' book to date.

​

TG
Next

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills