Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying (Among Other Things) Book

In this vibrant memoir, Abby Sher recounts her life with precision and humor as only a woman who is both a comedian and obsessive-compulsive can. The death of Abby’s father when she is eleven years old leaves a void that she fills with rituals: washing her hands, collecting litter, kissing her father’s photograph over and over. Then, with a child’s understanding of cause and effect, Abby begins to pray, certain that she can prevent further disaster. She carries the weight of this belief and the accompanying devotion to God through high school, college, and beyond, when it is joined by darker compulsions of anorexia and cutting.

Amen, Amen, Amen is an elegy to parents lost and to a youth consumed by grief and anxiety; it is a spiritual mystery about Abby’s search for answers and someone to guide her to them; and it is a romance about discovering the true nature of unconditional love. With remarkable candor and insight, Abby offers a brave and exquisitely written account of obsessive-compulsive disorder and the bounds and boundlessness of belief.

Kirkus Reviews

A witty memoir about living with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Improv comedian Sher (Kissing Snowflakes, 2007) was like many other Jewish kids growing up in the suburbs of New York City, until her father died when she was ten. The traumatic event quickly triggered early signs of OCD. At first it manifested in counting steps and kissing and hugging photographs of her dead father, but it soon evolved into collecting sharp objects from the street that might have otherwise blown holes in car tires resulting in horrible injury or death. If she didn't collect these items, Sher writes, she would have felt responsible if something bad happened as a result. The weight of that guilt drove a need for relief. Praying, or what her mother euphemistically called Abby's "quiet time," mollified her symptoms for a while. Sitting alone in her closet, Sher would pray 25, even 50 times that everyone who was sick would be healed, and to affirm with God that her father and mother would be her best friends forever. Eventually her "quiet time" stretched into hours, which cut into a burgeoning career as a member of the famed Second City improv troupe in Chicago, as well as her love life. When prayer couldn't stop her feelings of chaos, the author fell into alcoholism, anorexia and self-mutilation. Though there are reasons to doubt parts of the author's recollections-especially as she gets older and more accountable for herself-she is no less a talented, engaging writer. An inspiring story for young people who may be facing similar problems, rendered in charming, self-deprecating humor. Agent: Molly Lyons/Joelle Delbourgo Associates