When Life Gives You Pears: The Healing Power of Family, Faith, and Funny People

by Jeannie Gaffigan

The letters expressed how they’d seen Jim on television, or gone to a show, and the comedy was so healing for them. They would be filled with such gratitude and often would state some form of “It was the first time I’d laughed since .

And that’s how Jim steamrolled my life. And I let him. The oldest of nine children, the ultimate caregiver, marries the youngest of six, the ultimate care-getter. A match made in codependent heaven.

Without my suffering, it would have been impossible to achieve this higher level of joy. Things I took for granted my entire life have new and profound meaning.