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| Gallery Books |
Michael Ian Black
2016
The Summary
"You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll call your mom.
"New York Times bestselling author Michael Ian Black pulls no punches in this hilariously honest memoir, a follow-up to the acclaimed You're Not Doing It Right. When Michael's mother receives a harrowing medical diagnosis, Michael begins a laugh-out-loud examination of health, happiness, and the human body from the perspective of a settled (and sedentary) husband and father of two. With trademark wit that has made Michael's other books popular favorites, Navel Gazing is a heartfelt and poignant memoir about coming to terms with growing older and the inevitability of death. It is also a self-deprecating and deliciously frank remembrance of exercise failures, finding out his is part Neanderthal, and almost throwing down with fellow author Tucker Max.
"Michael Ian Black may not have the perfect body. Or be the perfect father. Or husband. Or son. But readers will laugh as they recognize themselves in his attempts to do better. And, inevitably, falling short."
The Good
When I first picked up Navel Gazing, I realized I recognized the author's name. He was relatively famous, I knew that; I'd seen him on a screen somewhere, even if I couldn't remember exactly where. However, I'd never recognized him as a writer. It surprised me, and I couldn't help wondering if this wasn't just another book by a celebrity with a ghost writer.
Except Michael Ian Black isn't just another celebrity writing a book about his career; rather, he's a man writing about the trials of everyday life with a terminally ill parent.
He discusses his family and his life as he grapples with his mother's deteriorating health; he discusses his health and what he's not doing to improve it; he discusses his beliefs, his religion and how it impacts him as his mother grapples with one medical diagnosis after another. It's a candid account on life in general and full of humorous musings on health, happiness, and faith.
I loved reading Black's memoir for the simple fact that I could relate to him. When he talks about his health and his worries regarding growing older, yet he doesn't want to schedule another appointment with the doctor, I understood his fear of disease and his subsequent reluctance to do anything about it. I mean, it sounds exactly like something I would do; in fact, it sounds like something I've done.
Likewise, when Black discussed his floundering attempts to become healthy and, for instance, decided to take up jogging as a healthier alternative to binge watching Netflix, I understood and connected with his experiences. I understood his struggles with weight and physical exercise (it's exhausting), and I recognized his desperate desire to discover something deeper, more important in his running routine.
"The toughest thing about training for the half marathon was the time commitment: hours per week, hours that could have been more fruitfully spent not running. Why did I persist, week after week, through the summer heat and into the chilly days of autumn? What was my fascination with running? [...] What did I want? The truth is, I knew what I wanted from running, but I couldn't quite bring myself to admit it: I wanted enlightenment. And this is where are all my convoluted feelings about my body and Mom's declining health and aging and my own fear of death and praytheism congeal into a goopy sludge. This is the nexus. It is a stupid nexus, to be sure, but I could not quite shake the idea that running could save me."
I laughed at his self-deprecating humor, of course, but I enjoyed his candor and I connected on a personal level with his experiences. I know what it's like to struggle with weight and health concerns (doesn't everyone?), and I know what it's like to hope that you can find something--anything--in physical activity. You hope to find enlightenment, contentment, peace--you know, something--and it's always a little disappointing if you don't.
Overall, I loved the reading Navel Gazing. It's fun and humorous, like it's intended to be, but it's also insightful and relatable. It connects on a deeply human level, exploring our individual foibles and disappointments, our worries and fears and insecurities. Personally, I came away from Navel Gazing with a familiar, "intense...almost electrical connection" to another human being.
It's a feeling that I'm sure any reader will appreciate after finishing Black's memoir.
The Bad
No complaints. His humor is sarcastic, slightly odd, so I can see how it might rub people the wrong way; however, I loved his sense of humor and I loved his candor as he talked about his experiences as a child with a terminally ill parent, as a parent with children, and as a human being with health concerns of his own.
If I have one complaint it might be that Black sometimes skips quickly to the next thought without any segue or break between subjects. It's pretty common through his memoir, but I think it's a pretty easy quirk to overlook. He might jump to a new subject without warning, which could be construed as confusing or annoying (depending on how you look at it); however, I wouldn't call it a deal breaker.
The Ugly
Cancer.
