I Punched Myself in the Eye

by Pamela Capone

These stories pack a punch! In her collection of personal, stand-alone essays, you will not only be entertained by her colloquial, quirky style, but surprised by the truths revealed. Putting her "quirk to work," she blends humor and depth. This easy, transparent read will appeal to anyone looking for a little downtime. You will end up not only with that, but so much more.

Key themes are seizing the day, humanity, grace, faith and messages from a higher power. Some of the true-life stories are downright hilarious, and a few are piercingly poignant, revealing old truths with fresh insight. Mostly they are about receiving understanding in the nonsense, epiphanies in unexpected places, redemption in everyday life. She shows that revelation from above can come many ways-a gardener's humble truck, an overlapper on a plane, a subway musician, a little boy who needs his button buttoned, a self-inflicted black eye. The more you believe it's possible, the more it is.

If you dig a little in an average day, you too can find the golden nugget-and don't we all need that?

210 pages, Paperback

Published December 13, 2015

About the author

People watcher. Evidence gatherer. Dot connector.

Reviews

[Libby Kirsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband actually asked me to stop reading this book on a plane recently, because I was making such a spectacle! Laughing out loud on one page, holding back the tears on the next. What a great read, with really sincere stories about the author's life, and full of observations that can resonate with all of us.

[Brent Soderstrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book through GoodReads First Read program.

I enjoyed reading Pamela Capone's messays. She is a talented writer who has a great sense of humor. She covers in 2-3 pages some adventure or happenstance in her life with grace and humor. She even makes fun of herself which is a good quality to possess. She is also very sarcastic which I enjoy.

Some of her messays were about Guatemala which to me is very interesting because I did a mission trip there several years ago and would like to go back sometime. Capone also isn't afraid to let you know of her beliefs in God and Jesus which I admire. She isn't out to please everyone, just to let you know of who she is.

I hope she keeps writing and I wish her the best in her acting career. Maybe I will run into her in Guatemala someday.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

When it comes to good fiction, you expect to be entertained—to laugh, to cry, to be inspired. It's rare, though, when this happens in a collection of personal essays.

In Pamela Capone's I Punched Myself in the Eye, you’re treated to a collection of experiences that touch on the important things in life. The magic of this book is Capone’s ability to treat you with an often-funny, always-spiritual ride with each story. Like Aesop’s Fables, you'll enjoy a nice story and then realize there's a profound message hiding underneath.

Read this book. A personal change for the better will be the result.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mixture of Erma Bombeck and Barbara Johnson, yet quintessentially Pamela Capone, this collection of personal anecdotes, life lessons, and poignant observations moves the reader from smiles to laughter to tears and all stops in between. Capone’s short essays are told with grace-fueled wit that will lift your spirits, stir your heart, and inspire your better self.
Robyn Henk, author of BLESSED, Discovering God's Bigger Dream for You

[Kathleen (Kat) Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess when we look back at certain times of our lives, we can find humor in almost everything. Most people would laugh at things once we have walked through them and show us that joy is prevalent, we just missed it. I believe God shows us things that we often miss because we are so caught up in our own problems, but Pamela Capone has captured some of these in her book, I Punched Myself In the Eye. It is filled with random things that have happened in her life, some laced with humor, things to make you smile and some to make you realize that it doesn't always have to be right in the world to appreciate the small miracles that a smile can bring.

Pam has classified these random stories as messays, a combination of messes and essays designed to get you to see self-sabotage, imperfections and amazing grace sprinkled throughout our messy lives. There are so many different stories, 67 in fact, that one is guaranteed to make you smile if not laugh out loud or LOL as my teens would say. Take a look at these titles, The Sale Starts at NO, Gummy Worms, Pam on the Lam, Garage Key, Lab Work, Little Miss Understood, the Dash, Take the Cannoli, The Mermaid Tale or REI. You can read them in any order but you can always find some common ground in them.

As Pam quotes about this book, "This is a collection of non-linear essays, which means you are free to move about the cabin. Some friends and family were mentioned by name. I love an awful lot of people who were not mentioned, but that's no barometer of my love for them or their value in my life. The story lands where the story lands. I'm just the catcher."

I received I Punched Myself in the Eye by Pamela Capone compliments of Pamela Capone for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation aside from a free copy of this book, in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinions. For me this is a great book to read when you are feeling low, because it reminds us that we take this life to serious at times. None of us are getting out of it alive! So we should attempt to find the joy and laughter in it whenever we can. It may not be our own situation but there is a saying that laughter is the best medicine. I would advise that you take one a day. For me my favorite is The Nerve, a time when Pam had to deal with a pinched nerve and had to deal with some of the neighborhood boys when she could barely move. For me this one rated a 4 out of 5 stars!

[Dee Eastman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pamela Capone’s personal “messays” are winsome, brave, honest, real, and hilarious. She has such a unique ability to combine humor, wisdom, and pathos. Page after page, she managed to make me smile, laugh out loud, think, and feel deeply. I Punched Myself in the Eye will capture many hearts and minds, as I see a wide audience for this book. The woman’s a truth teller, and we are wise to listen.

Dee Eastman, Daniel Plan Director

[Jim McNeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Punched Myself in the Eye is philosophically funny and provides a mature message with mischievous flair. Capone uses puns, idioms, and faux pas with artistic magnetism. Her stories will entertain with simplicity yet challenge the reader to consider living differently based upon her divine encounters with a faithful God.

Jim McNeff, author of The Spirit Behind Badge 145

[Janice Mock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Capone is an entertaining storyteller-come-friend, sitting across the kitchen table with coffee in hand, sharing anecdotes of a day in the life of an ordinary wife, mother, and struggling actress with a sense of humor. Divvied up into easy-to-read vignettes, you’ll chuckle too. -- Janice Mock, author of Not All Bad Comes to Harm You: Observations of a Cancer Survivor

[Jamie Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks Pam!!

[Katie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying this personal collection of essays (or messays as the author likes to call them). There is real honesty in the author's writings that is very comforting. She is able to find a deeper meaning after certain situations when most people wouldn't realize it was there. That's not to say that the book is all serious because the author's fun sense of humor is sprinkled throughout. By the end of the book, you wish that Pamela Capone was your friend or neighbor.

I won this book in a giveaway and that was my fair and honest review.