Overview

In this rowdy, frank reflection on illness, fame, sex, and everything in between, the remarkable mind behind the hit series Girls and the bestselling author of Not That Kind of Girl asks whether fulfilling her creative ambitions has been worth the pain. For the last decade, as she’s spent countless hours in doctor’s waiting rooms searching for diagnoses, treatments, and relief, being the owner and operator of Lena Dunham’s body has felt, as she puts it, “like towing a wrecked car across town at midnight.” It’s not easy dragging a wrecked car anywhere, much less to the Met Gala while sewn into a gold lamé corset. Or to the set of the hit show that you—as a twenty-five-year-old—are writing, directing, producing, and starring in. Or to the White House, the Golden Globes, or your publicist’s office to discuss the latest internet disaster. But Dunham does it—even if it means interminable hospital stays, vomiting in the bathroom when she’s meant to be meeting Oprah, or terrifying those closest to her—because she can no longer tell the difference between fighting to do what she loves and being a servant to her own ambition. All the while, she is holding out for a love that can withstand her personal and public challenges and, more than anything, yearning to feel like herself again—if only she could remember who that self was. As Dunham takes us through her journey, tracking her rise to fame—from selling the pilot of Girls to the present—in three acts, it becomes clear that the spotlight casts long shadows, distorting the relationships she once held dear and isolating everyone in its glare. When an endless supply of drugs can’t protect you from pain—and begins to control your every move—being famous doesn’t stand a chance against the darker corners of the human experience. In Famesick, Dunham asks herself what the cost of fulfilling her dreams has really been, and whether it was worth it. What she finds is deeper than physical relief, and more lasting, as she learns to live with what she can’t change and turn her regrets into wisdom that can carry her forward, as she reconnects to what, and who, she loves.

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Reviews

“Like many, I did a big ‘Girls’ rewatch recently. I’m eager to get my hands on Lena Dunham’s new memoir, which features frank reflections on illness, creativity and fame—including her experiences writing, producing and starring in her iconic HBO show at just 25 years old.”—Page Six “Here, you’ll find resonance, relatability, and the kind of honesty that Dunham has made her creative signature.”—Harper’s Bazaar “A raw and vulnerable look at the intersection of public notoriety and chronic illness.”—Parade “Dunham contends with her ambition, relationships, and chronic physical and mental illnesses in the way only she can: with ruthless self-deprecation and a healthy dose of humor.”—W Magazine “If Too Much had you craving more Lena Dunham, you’re in luck. A reflection on fame, sex, illness and the messiness in between, Famesick traces Dunham’s rise from Girls to the present day, candidly examining the true cost of fame.”—Fashion Journal “Famesick promises to be the kind of book we expect from Dunham: familiar yet surprising, funny yet bittersweet, vulnerable yet brave. For me at least, Dunham has always been the kind of girl who makes me sit up and pay attention, no matter what it is she wants to say.”—Literary Hub

Author Information

Lena Dunham is an award-winning multi-hyphenate. She is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the essay collection Not That Kind of Girl, the creator of the HBO series Girls, for which she was nominated for eight Emmy awards and won two Golden Globes, including Best Actress, and the first woman to win the Directors Guild of America award for directorial achievement in comedy. Lena is also the writer, director, and star of Tiny Furniture, which won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay; she has since written and directed the films Sharp Stick and Catherine Called Birdy. She’s also a host of the podcast The C-Word, which examines the stories of women that history loves to call “crazy.”

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