Awfully Hilarious: Stories We Never Tell

by Heather Hendrie

These are the untold tales of our times. This hand-selected crew of emerging writers share brave, true stories that the world needs right now. If you’ve ever gotten drunk, peed your pants in public, or gone on a bad date, you’ll find solace here. This is a courageous tell-all, from the trenches of Tinder, to the kinds of experiences with tiny toilets that we’ve all been told to keep to ourselves. These refreshing pages contain the kind of poignant and hilarious truth-telling that have the power to heal us all. This project was conceived by Heather Hendrie and two of her best friends when they scooped her up to console her after a particularly bad date—to provide the same support to others, in literary form. Heather is a creative radical who’s spent years fumbling through life and figuring it out as she goes (not unlike the rest of us). She’s travelled the world on a shoestring and a whim, and spent far too many hours lying in bed alone (or on the toilet in the bar) swiping through to the end of the Tinder-verse. From her humble beginnings as a Ms Frizzle look-alike guiding bus tours through landfills in Calgary, she’s learned a lot about life by stumbling her way from one disaster to another. Heather has also used these life experiences to become a clinical counsellor, and through that work and her humble, intimate writing style, she reaches out a hand to all the rest of us, as we all simply Bumble our way through life, together.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthologies, Humor, Memoir

194 pages, Paperback

Published January 24, 2023

About the author

Heather Hendrie writes funny, candid books about the things we're generally told not to talk about—bodies, periods, health, sexuality, intimacy, and all the messy stuff in between.

Heather Hendrie [https://heatherhendrie.com/] is an award-winning author and mental health advocate whose work uses humour to smash stigma around menstruation, sexuality, and the stories we’re usually told to keep quiet. She is the creator of the Awfully Hilarious [https://www.awfullyhilarious.com] anthology series—including Amazon #1 bestsellers Awfully Hilarious Stories We Never Tell[https://www.amazon.ca/Awfully-Hilario...], and Awfully Hilarious Pillow Talk[https://www.tidewaterpress.ca/buy-pil...]. Her work has received recognition from the Canadian Book Club Awards and was recently featured by the CBC in its 50 Books to Read This Season list.

Heather's memoir Where the Eff Is My Red Tent [https://caitlinpress.com/Books/W/Wher...], is a bold and deeply personal account of her thirty-year journey to a diagnosis of Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and her advocacy for menstruating people navigating mental health and hormones.

A registered clinical counsellor and founder of True Nature Wilderness Therapy[https://truenaturewildernesstherapy.com/], Heather lives in Whistler, British Columbia, where she blends nature-based therapy with storytelling, community building, and radical honesty.

Links:

Books: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=heather+hen...


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Reviews

[Vincenza]

This book laid bare the embarrassing parts of life, the moments that we push under the rug and try to forget about. It turned that shame on its head and made it beautiful, because we should all be loved and heard, at our best, but especially at our worst. This book made me laugh and cry and realize just how much I appreciate all of the wonderful women in my life who I share my experiences with. Thank you!!

[Angelica Perez]

This book is titled perfectly. It was so funny! I was cringing and smiling and laughing the whole way through. I love the honesty in these stories, and they really made me feel like we’re all humans just trying our best. This was a great read!

[Beth McCallum]

Thank you to Heather for sending this my way! What a fun collection. This is really a compilation of women who are not afraid to share their most embarrassing moments (some a little too cringe to read at times)! What a cool project, though. Looking forward to reading the other collections :)

[Lucia D'Amore]

Omg this book was hysterical! I read this in one sitting and laughed out loud so hard I had to pause as I couldn’t see the words for my tears!! An absolute must read!!

[Amie's Book Reviews]

AWFULLY HILARIOUS is the book you never knew you had to have. This book had me literally laughing out loud.

Most of us have at least one truly real friend, one whom we can tell anything and who will not only not judge us, but who will commiserate with us, and help us to see our experiences in whole new, hilarious ways. For instance, have you ever had the humiliating experience of peeing your pants in public? What about bad dates? I am 100 💯 percent positive that we all have stories about terrible dates and so many more stories that we usually only talk about with our closest friends.

Well, that is all about to change.

AWFULLY HILARIOUS is the book that every woman MUST READ. I will personally be purchasing several.copies of it so that I have them on hand for any time I need a gift for a woman. The fact is that women of all ages, abilities, and life experiences will find stories in this book that they can relate to, makes this the perfect gift. And the price is so reasonable that there is absolutely no excuse not to pick up, at the very least, a copy for yourself.

In the official description it states:

"This is a courageous tell-all, from the trenches of Tinder, to the kinds of experiences with tiny toilets that we’ve all been told to keep to ourselves. These refreshing pages contain the kind of poignant and hilarious truth-telling that have the power to heal us all."

The editor, Heather Hendrie, is Canadian which is an added bonus in my humble opinion. She has had a plethora of diverse life experiences, many of which are tales she tells in AWFULLY HILARIOUS.

I rate this fabulously readable and decidedly entertaining book as the highest ranking possible which is 5 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I cannot possibly do this book justice with my review, so suffice it to say that: YOU NEED TO BUY THIS BOOK. No, I did not get paid to say that, nor did I receive any money in exchange for my book review. I did receive a free copy of the book, but all opinions are 100% truthful and are my own.

To Read more of my reviews, visit my blog at http://Amiesbookreviews.wordpress.com and visit me on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/Amiesbookrev...

In September 2024, I will be hosting a giveaway for a free paperback copy of the second book in this series which you definitely do not want to miss. Be sure to follow my social media accounts for details coming soon.

[Elizabeth]

A nice collection of stories. You’ll chuckle and cringe along with those sharing their tales.

[Mina]

I loved reading this because these are stories about things no one likes to talk about. Things which feel isolating and in our society often shameful because they are taboo. I feel like this book could bring solace and a feeling of connection to those who feel like no one has ever experienced what they have.

[Julie]

FANTASTIC!!!! It was such a joy to read these stories! I laughed and smiled so big and most importantly I was reminded that everyone has their own embarrassing/heart wrenching/disappointing moments and that’s okay.

[Sarah Holmes]

Cute book filled with short stories from regular people in Canada doing regular things. I guess it reminds you that we all suffer shame for things that shouldn’t be shameful.

[Simarbir Kaur]

AWFULLY AWESOME!! AWFULLY AMAZING!! I am awfully amazed by this book!! If the phrase, "We are all in this together " was a book, it would be this book.

This amazingly hilarious and awfully awesome collection of stories is like that best friend you have by your side, to whom you can reach out at any time of the day, and feel comforted by the most relatable conversations.

This book is a series of short stories from courageous writers who decided to share their tales with the world. Each story is uniquely interesting and wonderfully refreshing. From hopelessly distressing first dates, to badly timed nature calls, from failed kitchen hacks to cure yeast infection, to closely escaping a scam in a foreign country, these stories are enchantingly entertaining and genuinely authentic. But all these stories have one thing in common, "being human". Each story whispers in your ear, "Hey, you are not alone". These stories are about those awkward surprises and curveballs that life throws at us from time to time but very few people have the courage to share those with anyone as they are too embarrassing and the world does not want us to speak openly about them.

This carefully curated book written by courageous writers made me laugh, smile, chuckle, and relieved me of the weight of all those moments that I was carrying with my life when I felt awkward, embarrassed and shamed. I was encouraged to take them lightly and not to overthink how I behaved in this situation.

With every anecdote sparkled with rib tickling humor, narrated with brutal honesty and presented with diverse writing styles, each writer brings a great deal of freshness as you navigate from one story to another. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book that feels like a companion.

5 ***** from my side.

[Tracy]

I had the honour of attending a reading with author Heather Hendrie, and she is electric. Her stories (and the others in this collection) feel like a salve for the world right now. They are genuinely hilarious, and laughter is such potent medicine.

These pieces are fully human - messy, tender, honest - which makes them both validating and deeply comforting. In a world where we tuck so much of ourselves away, Heather and her fellow writers lay it all bare, inviting readers to recognize our shared humanity. That kind of vulnerability creates connection, and connection always makes things better.

The world needs more stories like these.

[Anne Hendrie]

These brave writers have shared their very personal stories which so many of us can relate to. Awful dating or bodily function disasters told from the perspective of hindsight are spun into hilarious tales.

[Alanna]

Honest & Relatable. A reminder to lean into my sisters and that sharing our stories with friends makes the hard stuff lighter to carry. Thanks to all the contributors for their truth telling and to those who conceived of the book. Couldn't be more timely. Love that it is a local work too.

[Kristy Smith]

Good read giveaway winner.

[Andrea]

Heather Hendrie and contributors gathered an entertaining anthology of those cringy moments we just don’t really talk about! The stories definitely made me giggle. A big thank you to the author for the ebook!

[Kylie Main]

What a truthful title. I wholeheartedly think that everyone needs this book in their lives; it is a great reminder not to take life too seriously and just laugh. Everyone I know is getting this for their birthday gifts this year so they can cringe, cry, and cackle. I love all the brutally honest stories from real honest to goodness humans.

[Bookreviewsbyaimy]

I absolutely loved this collection of short stories and poems. It honestly felt like my experiences were written down for me.
This felt like sitting with my friends sharing stories about our experiences and challenges. I think it’s a great book to give to your daughters and friends.
This book has also helped me unlearn some of the things I had learnt about periods growing up.

[Crystal books_inthewild]

Thank you to the brave writers of these stories for sharing their adventures, mishaps, embarrassing moments, triumphs, and more!
The collection of stories and poetry covered so many different topics, yet was held together with themes of feminism, being part of something/togetherness, and being real in all life’s ugliness.

I especially enjoyed the poetry by Sophia Balisky- Chicago and Ophelia Survives.

And from writer Paris, her story about disc golf and Dave- how heartwarming to think about people looking for connections.

Find this one on Amazon- physical copy or kindle!

[Rene Low]

If this is some of what lives in the hilarious Heather Hendrie’s imagination I’d like to spend more time there. A mixed bag of stories and poems that helped normalize my own embarrassing dating and life mishaps. Heather’s belief that stories connect us, and help us feel less alone, shines through this collection and as I laughed I felt the embrace of all of humanity and all the cringy things I’d done or experienced transmuted into strengths. Bravo.

[Kara (Books.and.salt)]

Oh what a concept! I absolutely loved this collection of authors sharing their most embarrassing, silly, and straight up cringiest moments in life and how they managed to take them in stride! Awfully Hilarious is a laugh out loud exploration of fumbling through adulthood, with surprising tender moments and even a few poems amongst the diverse writing styles.

If you’re looking for a reminder that you’re never alone in the chaos, pick this one up!

[saracurtis2]

AWFULLY HILARIOUS is HILARIOUS!!!

These stories are the kind you usually only share with your closest friends—embarrassing moments, bad dates, and everything in between. But this book says what we’ve all been thinking and it’s totally relatable.

Heather Hendrie brings together real, laugh-out-loud stories that make you feel seen.

5 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Pamela]

Maybe another title

Interesting book on dating and female bonding. I was hoping for more laughter, but honestly didn’t find anything to be “awfully hilarious.” Mostly just awfully awkward with one or two giggles thrown in.

[Jen Braithwaite]

The stories in the book are so human and vulnerable. For heartwarming stories that make you feel less alone in your daily tribulations - this is a perfect read.

[Allison Elliott]

Most of these stories had me chuckling

Thanks to Goodreads for the free copy. These stories were so funny and relatable. It can be difficult for me to open up and share the embarrassing stories. So glad these women did. Quick read. Solid 4 stars:-)

[Jennifer Houselog]

Kindle read - poorly formatted

Goodreads giveaway: This was a difficult read, since I could only read from my phone, and not my Kindle. The book was poorly formatted, and edited. Some good stories here and there.

[Melissa A Pointer]

Awfully hilarious

I really enjoyed this book. I did laugh a whole bunch. I couldn’t put it down, the only thing that disappointed me was the one story the page (83) was missing so I can’t ever know what happened.

[Pamela G]

I think of this book as the antidote to corrosive perfectionism. Isn't it refreshing to hear the embarrassing stories, the ones we all have, but are reluctant to tell? The ones that truly define us as human. Brilliant. Brave. Bravo!

[Becki]

Honestly, this is a book I will add to every care package I make! It's so funny, so relatable, and so easy to totally fall into!

[Steve]

Keyword is awful

Disclaimer: I received this book from Goodreads for a review.

I am definitely not the demographic that this book was intended to reach. It consists of a collection of essays and poems that I found, for the most part pointless. The stories are all by women or gay men, and maybe women and gay men may find the stories amusing. I just found them tedious. If you think this is your cup of tea, have at it. Otherwise, avoid it like the plague.

[Pierre-Olivier Gaudreault]

Personal, vulnerable, relatable, and hilarious. This book takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and reminds you exactly what it means to be human. The stories in this book will make you laugh, cringe, and perhaps even recognize yourself in some of the more shameful experiences that can come with navigating the sometimes difficult world of dating. Most importantly, they remind you that whatever awkward, embarrassing, or downright ridiculous experiences you’ve had, you are not alone!