Comedian Natasha Leggero brings her brand of incisive, satirical stand-up comedy to a traditionally sit-down activity in her first book, The World Deserves My Children. Readers who know Leggero from her sitcom Another Period or The Honeymoon Stand-up Special on Netflix will find the same commentary on gender and class, pop culture and politics--but with a new focus: parenthood. Leggero, tongue firmly in cheek, starts off with her decision to become a parent: "Do what I did: face the most monumental decision you'll ever make and say, 'Hey, fuck it, why not?'" Following a difficult process that included rounds of in vitro fertilization and a miscarriage, Leggero was 42 and pregnant when she realized she'd opened herself up to a whole new world of worries. In addition to shifts in her career, freedom and body, now she'd be parenting through several simultaneous apocalypses, including the Covid-19 pandemic and near-constant California wildfires.
Leggero is self-deprecating, poking at everything from her skill at microwaving meals to her love of fashion, and she's able to make readers laugh even as she takes aim at patriarchy and consumerism. She exquisitely balances the essays: jokes about modern parenting and the entertainment industry sit alongside stories about the grounding joy of Jewish traditions and a heartwarming conversation with her husband and podcast cohost, Moshe Kasher. The World Deserves My Children is a very funny book about knowing that the world is ending and deciding to create someone amazing anyway. --Suzanne Krohn, librarian and freelance reviewer