The Awkward Phase

Claire Linic's 2013 Twitter @WeFoughtAbout went viral and was profiled in The Atlantic, New York Magazine, and BuzzFeed. She is a comedian and a Second City graduate who writes for Hairpin, The Daily Dot, and The Second City Network. She lives in Chicago, Illinois.Tyler Gillespie is a comedy-writer and journalist who has written for Rolling Stone, Salon, The Daily Beast, and National Public Radio. He lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.

"Back in the 1990s, when slap bracelets and Velcro ruled, two adolescents were stumbling their way through life on gangly limbs. One, Claire Linic, had self-permed her bowl cut, and the other, Tyler Gillespie, had purchased self-tanner, telling the cashier it was for his girlfriend. Now in their twenties, Linic and Gillespie have joined forces to ask the question, 'If we could talk to our fourteen-year-old selves, what would we tell them now?' Based on the hit Tumblr The Awkward Phase, this book answers that question with personal stories and cringeworthy photos from comedians, YouTube stars, and people like the rest of us. You'll read about the moment Shaun Sperling realized he was gay at a Richard Simmons workout studio, how Bente Engelstoft made her own bra out of her dad's old underwear, and why, even though Robert Bacon's awkward phase was mortifying, it was the beginning of his new, happier life. Ultimately, The Awkward Phase encourages us to laugh and celebrate the moments that have helped shape who we are"--Back cover.