Let's Be Less Stupid ─ An Attempt to Maintain My Mental Faculties

" "I believe Freud got it wrong when he said that the two basic drives that motivate our thoughts and behavior are 1) sex and 2) death, which he sometimes called aggression, go figure. So what runs the show, then? Fear of embarrassment prevails until theage of thirty, followed by the desire to lose weight, and finally, the need to sit down." In LETS BE LESS STUPID, longtime New Yorker staffer and former SNL writer, Patty Marx, employs the weapon she wields best--razor-sharp humor--to tackle what is perhaps the most difficult facet of aging-the decline of the mind. From losing her keys to forgetting her sister-in-law's name, Marx has done it all, and somehow prevailed with friendships in tact. Unrelentingly funny and unexpectedly candid, LET'S BE LESS STUPID speaks to women and men of a certain age, but it will make you laugh at any age. Filled with anecdotes about trying to learn Cherokee, zapping her brain with electricity, taking pills that make her pay attention, and listening to hours of Mozart--allin the service of keeping her mental faculties intact--this is an utterly fresh and original take from one of the smartest comedic writers today. The first woman to be elected to the Harvard Lampoon, Marx is her generation's Nora Ephron. "--

Patricia Marx is a writer for The New Yorker, former writer for Saturday Night Live, and the first woman elected to the Harvard Lampoon. Her books include the novel Him Her Him Again The End of Him, the children's book Now Everybody Really Hates Me, and the humor book How To Regain Your Virginity. After writing this book, Patty Marx got so smart she changed her name to Patricia Marx.