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Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light
Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light: Essays | Helen Ellis
27 posts | 21 read | 20 to read
The bestselling author of American Housewife and Southern Lady Code returns with a viciously funny, deeply felt collection of essays on friendship among grown-ass women. When Helen Ellis and her lifelong friends arrive for a reunion on the Redneck Riviera they unpack more than their suitcases: stories of husbands and kids, lost parents and lost jobs powdered onion dip and photographs you have to hold by the edges; dirty jokes and sunscreen with SPF higher than they hair-sprayed their bangs senior year, and a bad mammogram. It's a diagnosis that scares them, but could never break their bond. Because women pushing fifty won't be pushed around. In these twelve gloriously comic and moving essays, Helen Ellis dishes on married middle-age sex, sobs with a theater full of women as a psychic exorcises their sorrows, gets twenty shots of stomach bile to the neck to get rid of her double chin, and gathers up the courage to ask, "Are you there, Menopause? It's Me, Helen." A book that reads like the best cocktail party of your life, Bring Your Baggage and Don't Pack Light is chockablock with fabulous characters: cat-lady plastic surgeons and waterpark Adonises, bridge ladies and poker players; platinum medallion fliers and Garage Sale Swindlers; forty-year-old divorces, fifty-year-old new moms and still-young octogenarians. Alive with the sensational humor and ferocious love for her friends that won Helen Ellis legions of fans, this book has a raw vulnerability and an emotional generosity that takes this acclaimed author to a whole new level of accomplishment.
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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

Sometimes you just need to revisit funny favorites for the comfort. Perhaps you live in Tennessee and need a distraction from the shit show?? No matter what, Helen Ellis is a good call. I #reread all three of these little gems recently. Can‘t wait for her new collection, pubbing in June!

EclecticBookLover Oh! I didn't know she had a new collection coming out. Thank you! I thought both her previous collections were great! 11mo
britt_brooke @EclecticBookLover Sure thing! I‘m super excited for it. She‘s so funny. Love the southern humor. 🤍 11mo
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JoyBlue
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Mehso-so

This memoir in the form of a collection of essays is sometimes funny, and sometimes sad . . . like most of our lives. Read my mini review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#bring-your-baggage-and-dont-pack-lig...

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Addison_Reads
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Pickpick

Short essay collection that has some dark humor in it. I've been a fan of Ellis since I read her novel Eating the Cheshire Cat. Her essays always entertain me and make me laugh, although this isn't her strongest collection.

It was still a great audiobook to pass the time for a few hours.

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MallenNC
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Pickpick

This one suffered a little by comparison with Jenny Lawson, who I listened to just prior. Overall I enjoyed this short collection. My favorite was The Backup Plan, in which she explains the importance of being someone‘s second choice — in this case being the backup delivery room partner for her friend. I also liked the first one about her group of lifelong friends, and the one about why you should call to say something mean rather than text. #NYWD

Cinfhen Interesting/ I can see if you compare this to the Lawson that one would come out ahead but I found Ellis‘ essays more relatable to my own life. I also loved those three stories you highlighted. I feel like she & David Sedaris must have been NY neighbors at some point because some of their stories felt surprisingly similar🤓😁 2y
TrishB @Cinfhen I brought this for my friend for her b.day based on your review. She loved it! 2y
MallenNC @Cinfhen I was comparing based on how much I laughed. I think her essays are more relatable than Jenny‘s, but not as funny. Love David Sedaris. I live in Raleigh where he grew up! 2y
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Cinfhen Oh that‘s fantastic @TrishB ❤️❤️❤️I think it‘s a great friendship gift 💝 (edited) 2y
Cinfhen Sedaris is THE BEST!!! And yes, Jenny‘s essays are way funnier especially when she narrates them 2y
Flaneurette Well I love love Sedaris and this book was pretty good, I think I need to read Lawson for sure 2y
MallenNC @Flaneurette If you do audiobooks, I highly recommended listening to Jenny Lawson. Her humor and tone comes through much better in that format. 2y
27 likes7 comments
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Chelsea.Poole
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Pickpick

An entertaining way to spend a few hours. Middle-aged women dark humor. It was fine, but not as lol-inducing as I had hoped.

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Kappadeemom
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If you like Helen Ellis, she has a new one out and it is quite funny. A nice quick read for a weekend

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rather_be_reading
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Pickpick

I can always depend on Helen Ellis for a quick, short, laughter filled book! She seriously makes me laugh out loud.

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rather_be_reading
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Sitting outside working under an umbrella...listening to the first Fall rain!!

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rather_be_reading
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Book 166

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rather_be_reading
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Bed time Story time.

wanderinglynn Aw, so cute! ❤️🐶 3y
rather_be_reading @wanderinglynn ty! hes not a good listener he just wants to lick the books 🤣 3y
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lahousewyfe
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Pickpick

Laugh out loud funny. Loved it!

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akfreeborn
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Pickpick

Enjoyed these essays, more poignant than Southern Lady Code which is my favorite by Helen Ellis. Love all her books though.

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kbuggle
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Pickpick

Helen Ellis doesn‘t miss 🙌

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Erynecki
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Pickpick

Twelve humorous essays on friendship, love, and life. Funny and profound, honest, and heartbreaking. Lots of great characters musing on marriage, plastic surgery, fifty year old motherhood, and cancer.

Cinfhen Such a honest and relatable essay collection!! I loved it!! 3y
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jdiehr
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Pickpick

Enjoyed this collection of essays way more than Southern Lady Code.

Ellis has a quick wit and is a sharp observer.

Listening to her narrate the audiobook was a plus.

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britt_brooke
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The thoughtful way Ellis writes about her lifelong friends is precisely the way I feel about mine. The love runs hella deep. My girls and I even have “Redneck Riviera” stories. 🤐 This collection is exactly what I hoped for - and needed. Hilarious, scary, honest, and 100% relatable. Phenomenal storytelling and audio narration. Ellis‘s southern lilt adds another dimension. I just wanted it to be twice long! Definitely one to revisit.

Cinfhen 💯 agreed 🙌🏻Really delightful and insightful 3y
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Verity
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Pickpick

Yikes. How have I been awol from here for more than a month? I do apologise. Anyway, I am back and I come with a really very good essay collection to recommend. This made me cackle with laughter and read bits out loud to Him Indoors!

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KarenUK
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TFW your book orders turn up the same day as you are tempted by lots of other new shiny books, and you realize that you should just ask to be paid in gift cards! 🤦‍♀️ #booksellerproblems
Lots of #blameitonlitsy purchases here….. 💕📚

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britt_brooke
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How perfect that I started this book while “home” in Kentucky visiting. Ellis and her friends already remind me of my best life-long girlfriends, who I‘m meeting for dinner tonight. And I‘m going to hang kid-free with my BFF (who I grew up next door to and have known since we were 5) at her pool this afternoon. 💖 I haven‘t seen these ladies since before COVID and I‘m over the moon! 🌙

PhyllisH Enjoy your visit. I‘m also from Kentucky. I currently live in Alabama. I miss the bluegrass state. 3y
britt_brooke @PhyllisH What town, if you don‘t mind me asking? I‘m from Paducah. 💙 3y
Bklover Have a wonderful time! 3y
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Cinfhen This collection was SO FUN / the perfect reading for your visit….which sounds FAB ❣️❣️❣️ 3y
PhyllisH @britt_brooke Born and raised in Mt. Sterling. I lived in Lexington💙 and Paris before moving to Alabama. 3y
Leftcoastzen That‘s great! Enjoy! 3y
Megabooks Enjoy!!! 😁😁 3y
Tera66 Yay! Hope you had a great time! 3y
britt_brooke @PhyllisH Nice! I always enjoy “meeting” a fellow Kentuckian. I live in the Nashville area now. 3y
britt_brooke @Bklover @BookishMarginalia @Leftcoastzen @Megabooks @Tera66 It‘s been wonderful! Just what I‘ve needed! 💖 3y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen Loved the book - needed it to be longer! I spent several hours with my girls today and it was just wonderful! I known them all since kindergarten and love that we‘re all still close. 💖 3y
Cinfhen NOTHING is BETTER than childhood friends 🥰🙌🏻❣️SO LUCKY that you all remained close 💚 3y
Cinfhen This book really hit all the right notes ❣️❣️❣️I loved every essay in the collection 3y
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KathyWheeler
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Pickpick

I think I just have to accept the fact that Ellis is never going to make me actually laugh out loud. And that‘s okay; she amuses me and that‘s fine. I especially enjoyed the first essay about her reunion with friends on the Gulf (near where I live) and the last one about how she feels about her neck (completely relatable as I have the same feelings about mine.) This book is too short though.

Megabooks Glad it ended up being a pick! 3y
KathyWheeler @Megabooks Sometimes I learn that I‘m capable of reading something and liking it even if I‘m afraid to. 😊 3y
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KathyWheeler
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This afternoon‘s reading. I wanted light reading, but I‘ve already encountered a bad mammogram in the second sentence. I hope it still turns out to be lightish.

Megabooks The first essay talks a lot about cancer but the rest don‘t. 3y
KathyWheeler @Megabooks Thank you. I‘m not quite 5 years (almost but not quite) out from my diagnosis yet, and I‘m not always up to reading what could have happened. 3y
Megabooks I understand, and I‘m sorry you went through that. 💜 Just skip the first essay. 👍🏻 3y
KathyWheeler @Megabooks I was actually able to read it. Yay for me! 😊 I was very lucky in that all I had to have was a lumpectomy and radiation. They found it very early. 3y
Megabooks @KathyWheeler awesome!! I‘m so glad you got through it. 👍🏻 3y
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rather_be_reading
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Cant wait to watch this later!

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Megabooks
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Pickpick

I zoomed through this #audiobook stat! It is such a wonderful combination of humor and heart. I loved her relationship with her childhood best friends from Alabama. Everyone needs girlfriends like that! She also wrote humorously about menopause and plastic surgery in her 40s and how helpful it is to have friends that are 10 years older. (Certainly has been for me!) And I‘m the Backup Friend among my group, too. Great collection!

Cinfhen Yeah!! I totally want Helen as my backup 🥰this collection hit the aging sweet spot for me 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen exactly!! 😁😁 3y
mdemanatee Thank you! 3y
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Megabooks
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It‘s #NewReleaseTuesday from my library, and I‘ve just had some coffee! Starting with the tagged book! Squee!!

mdemanatee Oooh I have a libro.fm copy of this but will be VERY excited to hear your opinion before diving in. I loved American Housewife but was mixed on Southern Lady Code at times. 3y
Megabooks @mdemanatee I enjoyed both books, possibly because she and I are a similar flavor of southern. I‘m an hour in now, and it‘s really funny! Kind of a cross between the two. It‘s like a nonfiction version of the short stories, if that helps! Enjoy! 👍🏻👍🏻 3y
Cinfhen I had an audio arc and LOVED this collection 😍her first story about her friend trip was my FAVORITE 3y
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Cinfhen Ohhhh and you got the new Grady 🥰🙌🏻your library ROCKS!!!!!!! 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen yes!! It was fantastic!! It just finished it about 20 minutes ago. I loved that one and the one about menopause! 😂😂 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen so excited for that one. I‘m finishing this up now and then I‘ll start the Hendrix. Only one fiction at a time! 3y
Cinfhen Yes!!! That one was hilarious too!! And she has one about her neighbor who I swear is the same neighbor as David Sedaris and Ann Patchett😂Is it possible this writers group all crossed paths in NYC. I feel like they were all writing and living in NY at the same time. 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen 🤔🤔🤔 quite possibly!! 😁 did you see Ann has a new essay collection in November?? (edited) 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen ah ha! Found the name! 3y
Cinfhen Ohhhhh, thanks for sharing 💕I‘ll have to keep my eyes out on NetGalley 🥰 3y
Kangaj1 Wow, you get to keep your audio for 3 weeks! Our Libby rules are 2 weeks audio, 3 weeks kindle. 3y
Megabooks @Kangaj1 yes! But we only get 7 borrows and 10 holds, so one has to be picky! 3y
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kyraleseberg
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Pickpick

Another collection of essays from Helen Ellis, focusing mainly on aging this time around. Not my favorite but still enjoyable, it aspired to be a Nora Ephron but didn't quite get there for me. 3.5 stars

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Cinfhen
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Pickpick

Helen Ellis is “my kind of people.” Hilariously funny, sharp, honest, able to recognize the humor in everything, she‘s your number one backup plan, and makes you feel good about your lumps and bumps.
This collection of essays was fantastic! Each one was 100% relatable. I enjoyed every essay and laughed out loud numerous times. I admit, I shed a few tears during her essay about her friend group titled “Grown-Ass Ladies Gone Mild.”
#ARC #NetGalley

Cinfhen Publishes July 13!!! 3y
TrishB This sounds fun!! 3y
Bklover Sounds fun! 3y
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Megabooks Okay, I‘m preordering!! Should I go audio?? 3y
Cinfhen Yesssss @Megabooks I saw Helen is narrating the audio so I‘m assuming it‘s going to be amazing!! I read the E-copy but I will re-read on audio. 🎧♥️ 3y
Cinfhen We are definitely her target audience @TrishB @Bklover she‘s so relatable!!!! Each essay was a joy 💕 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I requested the audiobook from the library and preordered the print from Amazon. We‘ll see which comes through! 3y
Cinfhen Wise decisions @Megabooks I feel like it‘s a book you‘ll want to re-read and own! The audio is under 3 hours and the book was a quick read!! 3y
Cinfhen Why aren‘t U on #NetGalley??? @Megabooks you‘re such an avid reader!!! 3y
Cinfhen How‘s the face today?? @Megabooks 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I tried netgalley but it was a pain for me to transfer/write the reviews, so I just gave up. My library is so wonderful that as long as I have access to it, netgalley wasn‘t a big priority. 3y
Megabooks Just emailed you. Tonight is the first night it wasn‘t a total headache to look at a screen for awhile! (edited) 3y
Cinfhen Got it @Megabooks will respond later xx 3y
Megabooks @Cinfhen 😘😘 (edited) 3y
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