YOU'RE EMBARASSING YOURSELF

Writer, actor, and director Desiree Akhavan shares the stories she was told to shut up about - hilarious, horny, heartbreaking tales of a life in pursuit of art, love, and the metabolism of Kate Moss circa 1995.

There was a time before shame. A time of POGS, Tamagotchis and the Macarena. When birthday party invites were a given, books came with charm necklaces, and whoever was in your class was automatically a friend. Then puberty hit and everything went weird. When it comes to shame, Desiree Akhavan knows what she's talking about- whether it's winning the title of The Ugliest Girl at her high school, acquiescing to the nose job she was lovingly forced into by her Iranian parents, or losing her virginity to a cokehead she met in a support group for cutters. In YOU'RE EMBARASSING YOURSELF, Desiree goes to the rawest placesthe lifelong struggle to be at peace in one's body, the search for home as the child of immigrants, the anxious underbelly of artistic ambitionin pursuit of wisdom, catharsis, and lolz. Equal parts funny and heartfelt, these seventeen essays chart an artist's journey from outcast to overnight indie darling, to (somewhat) self-aware adult woman. The result is a collection that captures the pathetic lows and euphoric highs of our youthand how to survive them. Desiree Akhavan is a filmmaker, writer and (an occasional) actor. She created the Hulu original series The Bisexual as well as the films Appropriate Behavior and The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. As an episodic director, she's worked on numerous shows, including Hacks and Ramy. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian and British Vogue.