NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Driving, wild and hilarious” (The Washington Post), here is the incredible “memoir” of the legendary actor, gambler, raconteur, and Saturday Night Live veteran. When Norm Macdonald, one of the greatest stand-up comics of all time, was approached to write a celebrity memoir, he flatly refused, calling the genre “one step below instruction manuals.” Norm then promptly took a two-year hiatus from stand-up comedy to live on a farm in northern Canada. When he emerged he had under his arm a manuscript, a genre-smashing book about comedy, tragedy, love, loss, war, and redemption. When asked if this was the celebrity memoir, Norm replied, “Call it anything you damn like.”
Praise for Based on a True Story“Dostoyevsky by way of 30 Rockefeller Center . . . the best new book I’ve read this year or last.”
—The Wall Street Journal “This book is absurd fiction. . . . Scathing and funny.”
—The New York Times “Hilarious and filled with turns of phrase and hidden beauty like only a collection of Norm Macdonald stories could be.”
—Esquire “Raucous . . . a hilarious, innovative work.”
—A.V. Club “Part personal history and part meta riff on celebrity memoirs, the book, it quickly becomes clear, is also just partly true (and all hilarious).”
—Vulture “Very, very, very funny! Thanks, Norm, for letting me be part of this Booker Prize–for–literature–quality effort.”
—David Letterman “Norm is one of my all-time favorites, and this book was such a great read I forgot how lonely I was for a while.”
—Amy Schumer “I always thought Normie’s stand-up was the funniest thing there was. But this book gives it a run for its money.”
—Adam Sandler “Norm is one of the greatest stand-up comics who’s ever worked—a totally original voice. His sense of the ridiculous and his use of juxtaposition in his writing make him a comic’s comic. We all love Norm.”
—Roseanne Barr “Norm Macdonald makes me laugh my ass off. Who is funnier than Norm Macdonald? Nobody.”
—Judd Apatow “Norm Macdonald is more than a triple threat—he’s a septuple threat. He is smart, funny, wry, rakish, polite, rakish . . . no, wait. He is polite, insightful, and . . . aaaaah . . . warm. No. He’s exciting. Yeah. Exciting! You never know what he’ll do. Okay, then make that unpredictable. Add that up. He’s amazing.”
—Alec Baldwin “Norm is a double threat. His material and timing are both top-notch, which is unheard of. He is one of my favorites, both on- and off-stage.”
—Dave Attell “Letterman said it best: There is no one funnier than Norm Macdonald.”
—Rob SchneiderBased on a True Story: Not a Memoir is a collection of humorous essays by the late Canadian comedian Norm Macdonald. The book was published posthumously in 2022, and it quickly became a bestseller. Macdonald's trademark wit and observational humor are on full display in these essays, which cover a wide range of topics, from his childhood in Canada to his experiences as a stand-up comedian and actor.
One of the most striking things about Based on a True Story is Macdonald's honesty. He doesn't shy away from talking about his struggles with addiction and depression, and he offers a refreshingly candid look at the realities of life in the entertainment industry. But even in the darkest moments, Macdonald never loses his sense of humor. He finds the absurdity in even the most difficult situations, and he always manages to make the reader laugh.
Based on a True Story is a must-read for fans of Norm Macdonald and for anyone who enjoys a good laugh. It is a hilarious, heartwarming, and thought-provoking book that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
Here are some of the most memorable quotes from Based on a True Story:
- "I'm not a role model. I'm a cautionary tale."
- "I'm not saying I'm a good person, but I'm not a bad person. I'm just a person."
- "The only thing I know for sure is that I don't know anything."
- "Life is a mystery, and I don't have all the answers. But I do know that laughter is the best medicine."
- "I'm not afraid of death. I'm just afraid of what happens after death."
