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The AFP Book

Family. They’re the people we love and confide in, who stick with us through good times and bad, and will always be there when we need them. Family is also something else, however—awkward. No matter who you are or where you’re from, everyone has experienced awful, cringeworthy moments, courtesy of our loved ones. And when a camera is around to record those special times, an awkward family photo is born. Based on the enormously popular blog of the same name, AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS (Three Rivers Press Paperback Original; May 4, 2010) is a hilarious tribute to this universal phenomenon. Authors Mike Bender and Doug Chernack invite us all to share in one another’s misery with more than three hundred glaring examples of uncomfortable moments with the people we love the most.

In AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS, Mike and Doug have compiled some of their favorite submissions, along with new, never-before-seen photos and stories to showcase these happy reminders of how hilarious and bizarre family truly is. Relive the forced poses and matching outfits in the “The Family Portrait” chapter, the fake smiles and rivalry in “Siblings,” and the agony of sightseeing with your parents in “Vacation.” From ridiculous outfits to candid moments that might expose a little more of our family dynamic than we would like, Mike and Doug celebrate the painfully uncomfortable and present it for the world to see. Like it or not, the awkwardness of family is the tie that binds us all, and thanks to AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS,at least we can take comfort in knowing we are not alone.

AWKWARD Bestseller Lists

-NY Times

-Boston Globe

-LA Times

-USA Today’s Top 150

-Indiebound

 

Praise for AWKWARD FAMILY PHOTOS

“This is the best book of embarrassing and strange photos of people who look like my family that I have ever seen.”

—Judd Apatow, producer of The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up

“Being a test tube baby doesn’t seem such a bad idea after looking at these folks. I laughed till it hurt. To paraphrase Tolstoy… every family is freaky in its own way. There’s so much love here- but maybe a little more pain, or desperation, or bewilderment. I often feel slightly sad or guilty that I’m not closer with my own family- but looking at this bunch I sense we all have something in common and I’m far from being alone.”

—David Byrne

 

“Anything that both makes me laugh and think my family isn’t so embarrassing deserves to be a book.”

Joel Stein, Time magazine columnist

 

“This isn’t just a book; it’s a public service on the page, a living, breathing, laugh-out-loud reminder that no matter how badly you dressed, how oddly you posed, and how weird Uncle Dave who lived in the basement was, somebody out there had it worse. Particularly the girl on page 77.”

—Jennifer Weiner, New York Times bestselling author

 

“I wept with laughter fourteen times while reading this book and snorted aloud twice. I dare you to find a higher weep/snort ratio in any other publication.”

Karen McCullah Lutz, screenwriter of Legally Blonde and The Ugly Truth

 

Awkward Family Photos is the funniest book that I’ve read in a long time. It reminds you that it’s okay to laugh at yourself and celebrates the family that made you awkward in the first place.”

—Mia Kirshner, actress, The L Word

 

“Awkwardness has never looked so cool. Finally there’s a book that celebrates the cringe-worthy family photo we all have buried in an album somewhere.”

—Amanda Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of Celebutantes

 

Awkward Family Photos is absolutely hysterical, yet at the same time, it’s a stunningly accurate photographic record of the late-20th-century American family. Now I can be certain I was not alone in my awkwardness.”

—Adam Herz, producer and screenwriter of American Pie and American Pie 2

Purchase your copy today!