Audiobook Review: Happy Accidents by Jane Lynch

Jane Lynch has achieved fame recently with her role as Sue Sylvester in the popular series "Glee" but her success was hard won and the result of a lot of hard work and soul searching . . . and just the right amount of luck. In Happy Accidents, the author recounts her early life, her decision to make a go of acting and her journey to embracing her sexuality and coming out to her family. Her story, told with her signature wit, is inspiring in its reminder to relentlessly pursue your dreams until you happen upon the happy accident that turns your hard work into success. It is also a reminder of the joy found in living confidently and comfortably in your own skin.

 Jane Lynch grew up in a middle class home in Dolton, IL with her parents and two siblings. From a young age, she knew she wanted to be an actor and even wrote to all the heads of the studios to introduce herself and ask for big break. Although she knew she wanted to act, Jane was not as sure about much else in her life as she entered adolescence. She felt she didn't fit in but couldn't put her finger on what made her different and that pervasive feeling of not fitting in chipped away at her confidence and made her uncomfortable in her own skin. As Jane entered adulthood, she tried to avoid these unpleasant emotions by drinking. At first Jane's drinking was social and not unlike her parents' nightly cocktail ritual which began with the toast "First today, badly needed".  But over time, Jane recognized her drinking as an attempt to self-medicate and did not like the person she became when she drank. Rather matter of factly, she got herself to an AA meeting and got on the road to sobriety. Around the same time, she came out to her family and actively pursued happiness in her personal life. As tends to happen, one good thing begets another and as her personal life blossomed, she also began to get traction in her professional life and roles started to come in and they got better. Her personal life culminated with meeting her wife and her wife's young daughter while her professional career culminates in the book with her landing the role of Sue Sylvester in Glee.  

My Thoughts
I loved this memoir from beginning to end. I was listening while on a business trip and on more than one night I was parked in the parking lot of the hotel unable to pull myself away from the story. Knowing Jane Lynch as a "funny girl", I expected her memoir to be one laugh after another. Although her signature wit is weaved all throughout the book, the story is less about her as the center of attention and more about revealing the lesser known sides to her personality and recounting her journey from a struggling actress terribly uncomfortable in own skin to a wildly successful actress with tremendous satisfaction in her personal life. Jane's authenticity oozes from this audiobook and it won me over completely. Even if you are not a Glee fan (I am not), I recommend this one!