The Harm in Asking: My Clumsy Encounters With the Human Race

Welcome to the perverse and hilarious mind of Sara Barron. In The Harm in Asking, she boldly addresses the bizarre indignities of everyday life: from invisible pets to mobster roommates, from a hatred of mayonnaise to an unrequited love of k.d. lang, from the ruinous side effect of broccoli to the sheer delight of a male catalogue model. In a voice that is incisive and entirely her own, Barron proves herself the master of the awkward, and she achieves something wonderful and rare: a book that makes you laugh out loud. Simply put: if you read it, you will never be the same.* *That's not true. You'll probably stay the same. But you'll have laughed a lot. And you'll have learned a fun fact about Jessica Simpson's home spray. See? You didn't even know she had a home spray! The learning has already begun. From the Trade Paperback edition.ReviewPraise for The Harm In Asking "Sara Barron has a knack for colliding into life's odd characters and sharp corners with hilarious and heartrending results. Here she navigates this journey with the biting humor and telling observation of a born storyteller." –Piper Kerman, author of Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Woman's Prison “Sara Barron is the reigning queen of New York’s live storytelling scene. In The Harm in Asking she proves she's even better written down." –Jon Ronson, author of The Psychopath TestPraise for *People Are Unappealing* “Sara Barron’s essays . . . are, dare we say it, as funny as David Sedaris . . . When you aren't squirming, you're laughing out loud." –Los Angeles Times "A wickedly funny and dirty treasure trove of modern day oddballs." –Sloane Crosley, author of I Was Told There'd Be Cake"Hilarious . . . Sedaris and Crosley come off as adorable children in Barron's presence." –Cleveland Plain DealerAbout the AuthorSARA BARRON’S work has appeared in Vanity Fair; on Showtime's This American Life, NPR's Weekend Edition, and Today; and at HBO's Comedy Festival. She is a frequent host of The Moth: True Stories Told Live events.