Weird but Normal: Essays

Weird but Normal: Essays

Mia Mercado
$17.99
Publication Date: May 19th, 2020
Publisher:
HarperOne
ISBN:
9780062942807
Pages:
272
Usually received by store in 2-5 days.

Staff Reviews

"For a book to hold my attention AND make me laugh out loud during pandemic time?? YES. This book is one of the funniest books I've read with very relatable stories for Midwestern Millennials."

— Katie

I adored this book! I laughed until I cried, I cringed in shared embarrassment, and I read entire essays out loud to anyone who would listen. Although almost any reader will find something to relate to in Mia Mercado’s writing, she will speak directly to the hearts of millennials who still remember their hilariously terrible first AIM screennames. For all the laughs, Weird but Normal also delivers heartfelt truths about issues ranging from racism in America to depression. Can’t wait to see what Mercado does next!

Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks, Winston-Salem, NC
June 2020 Indie Next List

Description

Birth control. Body hair removal cream. Boobs. It’s all weird, but also pretty normal.

Navigating racial identity, gender roles, workplace dynamics, and beauty standards, Mia Mercado's hilarious essay collection explores the contradictions of being a millennial woman, which usually means being kind of a weirdo. Whether it’s spending $30 on a candle that smells like an ocean that doesn’t exist, offering advice on how to ask about someone’s race (spoiler: just don’t, please?), quitting a job that makes you need shots of whiskey on your lunch break, or finding a more religious experience in the skincare aisle at Target than your hometown Catholic church, Mia brilliantly unpacks what it means to be a professional, absurdly beautiful, horny, cute, gross human. Essays include:

•     Depression Isn’t a Competition but Why Aren’t I Winning?

•     My Dog Explains My Weekly Schedule

•     Mustache Lady

•     White Friend Confessional

•     Treating Objects Like Women

With sharp humor and wit, Mia shares the awkward, uncomfortable, surprisingly ordinary parts of life, and shows us why it’s strange to feel fine and fine to feel strange.

About the Author

Mia Mercado is the author of Weird But Normal and a contributor to The Cut. Her work has also been featured in The New Yorker, the New York Times, the Washington Post’s The Lily, Bustle, McSweeney’s, Reductress, Bust, the American Bystander, Gizmodo, and The Hairpin, and other media outlets. She lives in Kansas City, Missouri.

Praise for Weird but Normal: Essays

“As a deeply uncomfortable depressed midwest person, I relate to this excruciatingly hilarious book more than I’d like to admit.”  — Samantha Irby, New York Times best-selling author who still has a blog

"Mia Mercado's writing is hilarious, warm, relatable, confessional and emotional. Her writing leaps off the page! But not literally. That would be horrible. Imagine writing leaping off the page, soiling your house. Just awful." — Megan Amram, writer/producer of The Good Place & The Simpsons

"Wry, cutting, often silly…Fans of Samantha Irby and Sloane Crosley will want to take a look at this feminist, millennial, and comedic delight." — Booklist