You're Embarrassing Yourself Stories of Love, Lust, and Movies

Writer, actor, and director Desiree Akhavan shares the stories she was told to shut up about—hilarious, horny, heartbreaking tales of a life in pursuit of art, love, and the metabolism of Kate Moss circa 1995.

When it comes to shame, Desiree Akhavan knows what she’s talking about—whether it’s winning the title of the Ugliest Girl at her high school, acquiescing to the nose job she was lovingly forced into by her Iranian parents, or losing her virginity to a cokehead she met in a support group for cutters. In You’re Embarrassing Yourself, Akhavan goes to the rawest places—the lifelong struggle to be at peace in one’s body, the search for home as the child of immigrants, the anxious underbelly of artistic ambition—in pursuit of wisdom, catharsis, and lolz.

Equal parts funny and heartfelt, these seventeen essays chart an artist’s journey from outcast to overnight indie darling, to (somewhat) self-aware adult woman. The result is a collection that captures the pathetic lows and euphoric highs of our youth—and how to survive them.

Desiree Akhavan is a filmmaker, writer, and (an occasional) actor. She created the Hulu original series The Bisexual as well as the films Appropriate Behavior and The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. As an episodic director, she’s worked on numerous shows, including Hacks and Ramy. Her writing has appeared in The Guardian and British Vogue.