Sleepwalk With Me

I've been a fan of comedian Mike Birbiglia for about 5 or 6 years. I've seen all his specials and I own both his CD's, and they're all wonderfully hysterical. But a couple of years ago I heard he was performing a one-man off-broadway show produced by Nathan Lane... well color me intrigued. Unfortunately, he was apparently only performing it in New York and I have never had the resources to just GO to New York. So, I never saw the show and my disappointment slowly drifted away, forgotten.

Then quite recently (as in, yesterday) I discovered that Mr. Birbiglia had written a book about many of the stories that were told within his one-man show. I thought "this is probably the only way I'll experience these stories" so I went out an bought it (using a store coupon, I'm not made of money). I cracked it open this morning and I could not stop reading.

I'll try to give some perspective on this fact. While I do in fact read books, I will usually take several months to get through a single book as I tend to read infrequently and at a glacial speed. It also depends on what book I may be reading: Dune is probably the most mind-numbingly complex books I've ever read, but I enjoyed it so much I was able to knock it out over the course of a summer. And while Mike Birbiglia's "Sleepwalk With Me" is far from being a great literary achievement, it's still a damn good read. This is the first time I've ever read ANY book (over 10 pages in length) in a single sitting, I suppose that should mean something.

And as hilarious as the book so often is, Birbiglia isn't afraid to get very personal. His stories regarding his first serious relationship, meeting and dealing with the death of his hero (and mine) Mitch Hedberg are particularly moving. Of note is one passage wherein he describes his close relationship with his mother that was brought on by their mutual love of church. He goes on to explain his personal problems with the church that were partially brought on by this relationship. I'm not a religious nor anti-religious person and I've always felt that the criticisms from both sides were equally childish and pointless, with anti-religious always citing reasons of logic. Birbiglia's problems with the church are purely emotional, and it's one of the few times I really empathized with either side of the argument.

The book fantastically balances humor and humility with insight and emotion. At any moment your tears of sadness can become tears of uncontrollable laughter.

This is a book to keep an eye out for, go out and give it a read.