But The Funny Thing About Death remains an affecting portrait of two distinct yet forever entwined personalities. Marvellous though she appears to have been in the main, Annie's ego and insensitivity are aspects that Jo doesn't shy away from.

But my main memory was watching Gary Barlow and thinking 'why do the organisers think a man who had avoided paying his taxes would be a good fit for a Royal Variety Performance? With the blessing of Annie's partner, Martin, Jo includes several pieces penned by her sister in the book, invariably droll, witty vignettes. They didn't fit in at the Air Force bases they were raised on or the strict convent boarding school they were sent to.Annie devoted much of her life to writing about other people, those she believed to be far more interesting than her, the product of a boring, Anglo-Irish, itinerant Forces upbringing who never settled anywhere for long when they were young. It is appropriate that The Funny Thing About Death is part memoir for Jo Caulfield’s funny, talented, spiky sister Annie and part Jo’s autobiography. Acerbic, incapable of small talk and unwilling to suffer fools gladly, neither sister could be said to lack emotional intelligence based on their writing – but expressing it was another matter. Understandably, there’s a sizeable part of the publishing industry devoted to well-meaning cancer memoirs.

Scottish audiences tend to come out with a 'we are going to have a brilliant time tonight, and nothing is going to stop us' attitude. You have to ask yourself where is the money really coming from and why has it been set up to perpetrate this nasty 'anti-woke' agenda? Jo maintains that one of the most wretched aspects of her sister’s passing was that she never got to explore this more.Whenever new comics ask me for advice, I always tell them: the audience have come along to have a good time, the audience want to laugh, so don't be scared of them. This aspect of shared experience and emotion helped me better understand my own feelings around loss. I knew Jo Caulfield was funny, one of the funniest comics around, but her book is also moving and surprising. Laughter is what gets us through the toughest times, and Jo Caulfield demonstrates that beautifully in this heartfelt and hilarious book.

Read more about the condition New: A new, unread, unused book in perfect condition with no missing or damaged pages. This is the story of his attempt to fit in, be accepted and fulfil his duties as a member of the community, despite being the only foreigner in the.There’s a respectful accuracy in the telling of Annie’s journey with cancer that although deeply individual also offers a shared experience for any one of the rest of the 50 per cent of the population likely to be touched by it. Indifferent as to whether it attacks fierce, rebellious individuals like her sister or ‘arseholes’ like Lance Armstrong, cancer did not provoke the Caulfields to open positivity in the face of adversity. Without a shred of mawkishness, the book manages to move seamlessly from funny to tragic' -- Jenny Eclair 'Where do you start with the death of a beloved sibling? You'll laugh, cry, breathe and want to read it again' -- Deborah Frances-White, author and host of The Guilty Feminist 'a story of two women carving out their place in the world, each with their experience of not fitting in and their own rebellious spirit' * The Bookseller * 'This memoir is every bit as exquisitely funny and poignant as one would expect. Without a shred of mawkishness, the book manages to move seamlessly from funny to tragic' — Jenny Eclair 'Where do you start with the death of a beloved sibling?

I have the same muscle memory when I’m gardening, I seem to know how to do things because I saw my Dad doing it, it’s him doing it not me. Like her stand-up, Jo Caulfield's caustic wit and razor-sharp observations make her account of life with her sister, even in the worst of times, as entertaining as it is touching and relatable. Any money you contribute will directly fund more reviews, interviews and features – the sort of in-depth coverage that is increasingly difficult to fund from ever-squeezed advertising income, but which we think the UK’s vibrant comedy scene deserves. A moving, occasionally beautiful but down-to-earth account of family ties, creative ambition and lust for life, The Funny Thing About Death is the comic’s first book and it admirably succeeds in conveying Jo’s assertion that ‘cancer was the least interesting thing about Annie’. Kathy Burke and Jerome Flynn were at Annie's house parties and the artist Bridget Riley was an employer who became a friend and mentor.

She just wanted to be interesting like her big sister and thought it might involve eyeliner, smoking and being in a band.