Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Impostor Syndrome

Completes the trifecta of summer 2023 memoirs from American comedians with mental health issues, after [b:Sure, I'll Join Your Cult: A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere 112093865 Sure, I'll Join Your Cult A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere Maria Bamford https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1683135532l/112093865.SY75.jpg 134730702] by Maria Bamford and [b:Misfit: Growing Up Awkward in the '80s 199139685 Misfit Growing Up Awkward in the '80s Gary Gulman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1695674070l/199139685.SX50.jpg 100096840] by Gary Gulman. Nancherla is probably the least known of the three; I became familiar with her through the-hellscape-formerly-known-as-Twitter, her voiceover work on Netflix's unique animated series Bojack Horseman, and her role as an overworked HR rep on Comedy Central's bleak satire Corporate. Her standup routines have frequently included remarks about living with chronic depression and anxiety as well as the challenges of being a South Asian woman in a still cishet white male dominated profession. Unreliable Narrator is less a memoir than a series of essays about imposter syndrome, the culture of productivity, women and anger, social media (including the time Nancherla tweeted a dig at Taylor Swift and was immediately deluged by thousands of Swifties, demanding her head on a platter), etc. Parts of the book are humorous, and we learn a little about Nancherla's childhood and life as a fledgling comedian, but most of it is deeply introspective, as if she is figuring stuff out as she writes. That makes it less entertaining than the others' memoirs, but it inspires more self-reflection in the reader.N.B. Check out Vulture's recent interview with all three comedians about their writing processes, the books that inspired them, and their families' reactions to seeing themselves in print.