You're Embarrassing Yourself

Stories of Love, Lust, and Movies

By: Desiree Akhavan

Narrated by: Desiree Akhavan

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 a better haircut.

“Hilariously raw, relatable, and—dare I even say—sexy.”—Jessi Klein

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 Embarrassing Yourself, Akhavan goes to the rawest places—the lifelong struggle to be at peace in one’s body, the search for home as the child of immigrants, the anxious underbelly of artistic ambition—in 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 youth—and how to survive them.

* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of images from the book.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Desiree Akhavan (P)2024 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“With cackle-worthy humor and absolute ease, Desiree Akhavan shares her deeply honest stories of culture and identity, modern sexuality, and what it is to be an artist.”—Lena Dunham, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl

“Akhavan is one of the most audacious and important filmmakers working today. . . . She’s no stranger to mining her life for tragicomic gold, which she does aplenty in her memoir-in-essays.”—Electric Lit

“Desiree Akhavan’s memoir is a hilariously raw, relatable, and—dare I even say—sexy recounting of an awkward girl’s journey to finding her way as an adult, and ultimately, an artist. In other words—a perfect book.”—Jessi Klein, New York Times bestselling author of I’ll Show Myself Out