Okay Fine Whatever: The Year I Went from Being Afraid of Everything to Only Being Afraid of Most Things

Courtenay Hameister

Little, Brown, Jul 31, 2018 - Biography & Autobiography - 320 pages

The "hilarious and poignant" story of one chronically anxious woman's quest to become braver by seeking out the kinds of experiences she's spent her life avoiding (Cheryl Strayed).

For most of her life (and even during her years as the host of a popular radio show), Courtenay Hameister lived in a state of near-constant dread and anxiety. She fretted about everything. Her age. Her size. Her romantic prospects. How likely it was that she would get hit by a bus on the way home.

Until a couple years ago, when, in her mid-forties, she decided to fight back against her debilitating anxieties by spending a year doing little things that scared her -- things that the average person might consider doing for a half second before deciding: "nope."

Things like: attending a fellatio class. She did that. She also spent an afternoon in a sensory deprivation tank, got (legally) high in the middle of a workday, had a session with a professional cuddler, braved twenty-eight first dates, and (perhaps scariest of all) actually met someone who might possibly appreciate her for who she is.

Refreshing, relatable, and pee-your-pants funny, Okay Fine Whatever is Courtenay's hold-nothing-back account of her adventures on the front lines of Mere Human Woman vs. Fear, reminding us that even the tiniest amount of bravery is still bravery, and that no matter who you are, it's possible to fight complacency and become bold, or at least bold-ish, a little at a time.

About the author

Courtenay Hameister is a professional nervous person. During her twelve years as host and head writer for Live Wire, a nationally-syndicated public radio show, she interviewed over 500 intimidating people and wrote 200 personal essays in bursts of anxiety-fueled inspiration at midnight the night before each show. Her work has also been featured in McSweeney's, APM's Marketplace, More Magazine, and some scathing emails to the customer service department at Macy's.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Okay Fine Whatever: The Year I Went from Being Afraid of Everything to Only Being Afraid of Most Things
• Author: Courtenay Hameister
• Publisher: Little, Brown, 2018
• ISBN: 0316395692, 9780316395694
• Length: 320 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Women; Humor / Form / Essays