Good Things Happen to People You Hate

Essays

Rebecca Fishbein

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN:
  9780062889997
• Print ISBN:
  9780062889980
• Subtopic: Mental Health & Wellbeing

For lovers of Sloane Crosley and Samantha Irby, this hilarious and raw essay collection paints a recognizable and relatable portrait of life in the early aughts.

Former Senior Editor for Gothamist Rebecca Fishbein's adult life has been a dramatic reflection of New York media itself—constantly evolving in unexpected ways and seemingly always on the edge of disaster. In short, Rebecca has seen it all—from 3 bedbug infestations, to being fired, to being yelled at while working at American Apparel, to losing all her stuff in a freak fire, to being bullied online by angry Taylor Swift fans.

But the real humor and meat of the collection come from Rebecca's unwavering honesty and unflinching examination of her struggles with alcohol, anxiety, depression, compulsive lying, female beauty standards, and a slew of failed cowoker/roommate/friend semi-relationships are dark, insightful, and hilarious.  

As Jia Tolentino commented, the era of the personal essay ended with the election—this is not your grandmother's millennial essay collection. Rebecca's writing is relatable without being preachy and conveys a message of resilience by example, not by moral. Readers will recognize the world they themselves see—a disastrous president and a scary socioeconomic landscape—in Becca's writing and find comfort in her humor and a snarky but incisive friend in her writing.

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Contents
• The Key to Success Is Never to Have a Dream
• Real Men Will Disappoint You, Date Fictional Men Instead
• Sex Is Good for Your Complexion, but I’d Rather Have Acne
• Don’t Cry Over Spilt Milk, Have a Full-on Breakdown
• Honesty Is the Best Policy, but Lying Will Give You the Life You Want
• Sometimes Your Irrational Fears Come True and Fire Destroys Your Home
• Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder Except When the Teens Think You’re a Hideous Beast
• The Definition of Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results, but Why Not Give It One More Try?
• Friends Stick with You Through Thick and Thin, Unless You Have Bedbugs
• Why Be Kind to Yourself When You Can Torture Your Mind Quietly?
• Everything in Moderation, Especially Moderation
• Misery Loves No Company at All
• How to Fail at Failing
• Good Things Happen to People You Hate
• Summer of Death
• I Went to South America to Find Myself and All I Found Was a Forty-Foot Jesus
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright
• About the Publisher