What do you think?
Rate this book
Manchild: My Life Without Adult Supervision
Alan Olifson has a knack for taking relatable experiences – parenting mistakes, botched home improvements, the hassles of having to act like a grownup – and making them way funnier than I remember them being when they happened to me.
– Jonathan Green, writer/producer of Superstore and The Office
How to use a hacksaw? Car maintenance advice? How to avoid getting hustled by a twelve-year-old psychic? You will not likely find answers to those questions in Alan Olifson’s hilarious, smart, real collection of essays. But you’ll laugh, like a lot, as you read about Olifson’s journey to figure it all out.
– Rachna Fruchbom, writer of Fresh Off the Boat and Parks and Recreation
Alan Olifson isn’t just funny. As he proves in Manchild , he’s whip smart and deeply honest. And the guy has a gigantic heart. All that is evident in this lovely collection as it was from the moment I first read his Over a decade ago Alan walked into a class I was teaching at UCLA Extension. Actually, he hobbled in on crutches. Naturally we all wanted to Skiing accident? Football? Maybe luge? Then he read us the story and had us all doubled over with laughter.
– Amy Friedman, author of Desperado’s A Memoir
Olifson’s witty and self-deprecating essays perfectly capture the frantic race to grow up just a little bit before your kids do.
– Gemma Baker, writer/producer and co-creator of Mom
Alan Olifson covers a lot in this book, from his childhood days in California, to the questionable decisions of his college career, to getting married and having kids. His Jewish heritage and move to Pittsburgh also provide material for several essays. Each is no extraneous words, finely honed to deliver laughs.
– Shannon Reed, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In 38 essays over 144 pages, the comedian and humorist explores his general life-skills deficit, from childhood tee-ball traumas and collegiate drinking binges to his foibles as a parent. If the essays, just two to four pages long each, read like monologues or humor columns — David Sedaris crossed with Dave Barry — Olifson comes by it honestly. ... Manchild is perfect bathroom reading, and that’s no insult. – Bill O'Driscoll, Pittsburgh City Paper
– Jonathan Green, writer/producer of Superstore and The Office
How to use a hacksaw? Car maintenance advice? How to avoid getting hustled by a twelve-year-old psychic? You will not likely find answers to those questions in Alan Olifson’s hilarious, smart, real collection of essays. But you’ll laugh, like a lot, as you read about Olifson’s journey to figure it all out.
– Rachna Fruchbom, writer of Fresh Off the Boat and Parks and Recreation
Alan Olifson isn’t just funny. As he proves in Manchild , he’s whip smart and deeply honest. And the guy has a gigantic heart. All that is evident in this lovely collection as it was from the moment I first read his Over a decade ago Alan walked into a class I was teaching at UCLA Extension. Actually, he hobbled in on crutches. Naturally we all wanted to Skiing accident? Football? Maybe luge? Then he read us the story and had us all doubled over with laughter.
– Amy Friedman, author of Desperado’s A Memoir
Olifson’s witty and self-deprecating essays perfectly capture the frantic race to grow up just a little bit before your kids do.
– Gemma Baker, writer/producer and co-creator of Mom
Alan Olifson covers a lot in this book, from his childhood days in California, to the questionable decisions of his college career, to getting married and having kids. His Jewish heritage and move to Pittsburgh also provide material for several essays. Each is no extraneous words, finely honed to deliver laughs.
– Shannon Reed, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In 38 essays over 144 pages, the comedian and humorist explores his general life-skills deficit, from childhood tee-ball traumas and collegiate drinking binges to his foibles as a parent. If the essays, just two to four pages long each, read like monologues or humor columns — David Sedaris crossed with Dave Barry — Olifson comes by it honestly. ... Manchild is perfect bathroom reading, and that’s no insult. – Bill O'Driscoll, Pittsburgh City Paper
146 pages, Paperback
Published February 28, 2017
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 3, 2017
This is a highly amusing piece of non-fiction. The author is the host of Pittsburgh's Moth series and anyone familiar with Moth's five minute true stories will find that most of the short chapters are like those stories. Amusing, funny, and well done. The only negative is the 4 or 5 typos and that is a very minor quibble by someone who hates missing a typo in his own work.
November 5, 2017
Collection of short pieces, many original written as monologues, by the Pittsburgh-based (formerly LA-based) humorist, about everything from growing up to becoming a father. Highly entertaining, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, insightful every so often. Fans of Dave Barry will appreciate.
April 17, 2018
Insightful, sensitive, very funny stories that anyone who became an adult in the 90s or 00s can relate to. A great read!
October 17, 2022
The stories are so funny! The writing is great and the essays entertain! I could read these stories over and over to bring joy to my day! Great Book!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews