Book cover art inspired by Life Will Be the Death of Me (2020), the memoir by Chelsea Handler. This visual interpretation and creative exploration was based on various themes, cultural topics and historical references mentioned in the book.
Official Book Information: Penguin Random House
Purchase on Bookshop.org to support local bookstores.
Borrow this title via Libby App to support local libraries.
“No person is just one thing. People can be filled with light and affection and also be tortured and conniving and dishonest. Happiness can coincide with great pain. One can lead while also following, the same way one can follow while also leading.” -C.H.
Official Book Description:
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s election, feeling that her country—her life—has become unrecognizable, Chelsea Handler has an awakening. Fed up with the privileged bubble she’s lived in, she decides it’s time to make some changes.
She embarks on a year of self-sufficiency and goes into therapy, prepared to do the heavy lifting required to make sense of a childhood that ended abruptly with the death of her brother. She meets her match in an earnest, nerdy shrink who dissects her anger and gets her to confront her fear of intimacy. Out in the world, she channels her outrage into social action and finds her voice as an advocate for change. With the love and support of an eccentric cast of friends, assistants, family members (alive and dead), and a pair of emotionally withholding rescue dogs, Chelsea digs deep into the trauma that shaped her inimitable worldview and unearths some glittering truths that light up the road ahead.
Thrillingly honest and insightful, Chelsea Handler’s darkly comic memoir is also a clever and sly work of inspiration that gets us to ask ourselves what really matters in our own lives.
She embarks on a year of self-sufficiency and goes into therapy, prepared to do the heavy lifting required to make sense of a childhood that ended abruptly with the death of her brother. She meets her match in an earnest, nerdy shrink who dissects her anger and gets her to confront her fear of intimacy. Out in the world, she channels her outrage into social action and finds her voice as an advocate for change. With the love and support of an eccentric cast of friends, assistants, family members (alive and dead), and a pair of emotionally withholding rescue dogs, Chelsea digs deep into the trauma that shaped her inimitable worldview and unearths some glittering truths that light up the road ahead.
Thrillingly honest and insightful, Chelsea Handler’s darkly comic memoir is also a clever and sly work of inspiration that gets us to ask ourselves what really matters in our own lives.
Audio book version of Life Will Be the Death of Me by Chelsea Handler
Design Notes: This book was a unique spin of Chelsea Handler's story as it is her most vulnerable of all her books, which are typically outrageous and very funny. Chelsea manages to still weave in humor among a series of heartbreaking moments in her live. We even get a glimpse into conversations with her therapist. This visual references many moments in the book including significant moments of Chelsea holding an orange and her relationship to cereal. Imagery created with Adobe Photoshop.
Work in progress Video: Adjustments of Design Layout
Chelsea Handler is a writer, comedian, producer, TV host, activist, and the author of six consecutive New York Times bestsellers. She hosted the late-night talk show Chelsea Lately on the E! network from 2007 to 2014 and released a documentary series, Chelsea Does, on Netflix in January 2016. In 2016 and 2017, Handler hosted the talk show Chelsea on Netflix. Her Netflix comedy special, Revolution, was released in 2022 and is now streaming. Her beloved advice podcast, Dear Chelsea, is in its fifth season and her fourth stand-up special will be released by Netflix in 2025.
Praise for Life Will Be the Death of Me:
“A disarmingly, unblinkingly honest work.”—Chicago Tribune
“This will be one of your favorite books of all time. Through her intensely vulnerable, honest, and hilarious reflections Chelsea shows us more than just her insides. She shows us ourselves.”—Amy Schumer
“The Chelsea Handler I know is a take-no-prisoners activist for the causes she believes in. She brings the same fearlessness and commitment to telling her truth in this book. I’m hoping that one day, in exchange for this blurb, she will let me see the security camera footage of the dog fight in her bedroom.”—Trevor Noah
“This is, of course, a roller coaster ride, since it’s a Chelsea Handler book, but it’s a thoughtful roller coaster ride, including not only dog poop and hallucinogenics, but a tour-de-force loop-the-loop through formative trauma and questions of how to be a grown-up and what it means to go deeper into your own life, and I’m sure I mentioned funny bits.”—Rebecca Solnit, author of Men Explain Things to Me
“In this brutally truthful memoir, Chelsea Handler introduces us to the family, struggles, and triumphs that have shaped her life. Her story is both personal and highly relatable, especially for anyone who has ever wondered why we’re on this earth and what we can do to change it for the better. This book is hilarious and heartbreaking; I could not put it down. Chelsea is the girlfriend you want to share your stories with and the woman you want with you on the front lines.”—Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood and author of Make Trouble
“I don’t know of any other writer who could move from Robert Mueller to edibles to rescue dogs in a way that makes you laugh, cry, and ponder the meaning of life. Chelsea Handler’s political awakening in the Trump Era serves as the hilariously insightful backdrop for Life With Be The Death of Me, a book in which she chronicles her own journey and our collective insanity with just the right mix of sincerity and snark.”—Jon Favreau, co-host of Pod Save America
“This will be one of your favorite books of all time. Through her intensely vulnerable, honest, and hilarious reflections Chelsea shows us more than just her insides. She shows us ourselves.”—Amy Schumer
“The Chelsea Handler I know is a take-no-prisoners activist for the causes she believes in. She brings the same fearlessness and commitment to telling her truth in this book. I’m hoping that one day, in exchange for this blurb, she will let me see the security camera footage of the dog fight in her bedroom.”—Trevor Noah
“This is, of course, a roller coaster ride, since it’s a Chelsea Handler book, but it’s a thoughtful roller coaster ride, including not only dog poop and hallucinogenics, but a tour-de-force loop-the-loop through formative trauma and questions of how to be a grown-up and what it means to go deeper into your own life, and I’m sure I mentioned funny bits.”—Rebecca Solnit, author of Men Explain Things to Me
“In this brutally truthful memoir, Chelsea Handler introduces us to the family, struggles, and triumphs that have shaped her life. Her story is both personal and highly relatable, especially for anyone who has ever wondered why we’re on this earth and what we can do to change it for the better. This book is hilarious and heartbreaking; I could not put it down. Chelsea is the girlfriend you want to share your stories with and the woman you want with you on the front lines.”—Cecile Richards, former president of Planned Parenthood and author of Make Trouble
“I don’t know of any other writer who could move from Robert Mueller to edibles to rescue dogs in a way that makes you laugh, cry, and ponder the meaning of life. Chelsea Handler’s political awakening in the Trump Era serves as the hilariously insightful backdrop for Life With Be The Death of Me, a book in which she chronicles her own journey and our collective insanity with just the right mix of sincerity and snark.”—Jon Favreau, co-host of Pod Save America
Credits:
Found Photography: @ChelseaHandler
Orange Image: Francesco Carta fotografo / Getty Images
other stock Images: Getty Images / Unsplash