Hyper-chondriac: One Man's Quest to Hurry Up and Calm Down - Softcover

Frazer, Brian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743293428 ISBN 13: 9780743293426

Publisher: Atria, 2008

Synopsis

Does your blood pressure surge if the car in front of you turns without signaling? Do your neck veins pulsate when a cashier takes too long to ring you up? Does relaxing seem like it'll have to wait until you're dead? Then your name could very well be Brian Frazer. On paper, Frazer is the world's healthiest guy. He eats right, exercises regularly, gets plenty of sleep, has never smoked and has missed only one day of flossing in the last five years. But inside he's a swirling vortex of angst, capable of contracting a new malady every month. Once Frazer realized that all his ills were tied to stress, he went on a quixotic quest for calm, venturing into everything from Tai Chi, serotonin blockers and Kabbalah to an unfortunate incident involving pineapple-chicken curry at a Craniosacral therapy session. Never has the road to wellville taken so many unforeseen turns. Achingly funny, uncomfortably true and always entertaining, Hyperchondriac is just the medicine for anyone who wants to take it down a notch.

About this title

Product Description:

Hyper-Chondriac The "Esquire" and "Vanity Fair" humor columnist wipes out on the road to Wellville in this bitingly funny memoir about one man's frantic lifelong search for inner peace.

Review:

"Frazer's first book is the perfect medicine for anyone suffering from a case of treacly-memoir syndrome. Hilarious and biting, Hyper-Chondriac recounts the author's lifelong battle with various ailments and maladies, ranging from minor instances of frostbite to rage-filled meltdowns. Frazer's reflections are distinct and laugh-out-loud funny. During a teen rendezvous, Frazer contemplates how his date, suffering from scoliosis, removes her brace: 'It probably had to involve her entire family, as if they were an Indy pit crew.' It's that kind of spiked, wickedly funny observation that makes this sickness-filled book so easy to swallow. A-"
-- Entertainment Weekly

"How did Brian Frazer take his neuroses and write a hysterical book, while mine just annoy my family? Seriously, this is one funny book. Damn it."
-- Ray Romano

"Hyper-chondriac is my new favorite memoir! It was so funny I laughed out loud, so honest I gasped out loud and so relatable I immediately called my therapist. I love this book!"
-- Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, author of Sippy Cups are Not for Chardonnay

"Brian Frazer has written a very touching and hilarious exploration of family, hypochondria, and road rage. It's awesome."
-- Greg Behrendt, coauthor of He's Just Not That Into You

..".a riotous romp through a head case's attempts to find inner peace for his own bodily health."
-- New York Post

"Hyper-chondriac is an amazing book. It's funny, raw, moving and original. And I'm not just saying that because I'm afraid Brian Frazer will be angry at me if I don't."
-- A.J. Jacobs, author of The Know-it All

..".caustically funny yet quietly moving." -- USA TODAY

About this edition

• Publisher: Atria
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0743293428
• ISBN 13: 9780743293426
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256