You'll Like It When You Get There: A Life Lived Reluctantly

Author: Rhys James

Hardcover

Your guide to living life against a back drop of dread, from the Mock the Week comedian

Pre order release date
10th November 2025

Pre Order

$52.00

Or pay later with

Free 30 day returns Secure transaction

Pre order release date
10th November 2025

Check delivery options

Hardcover

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

Your guide to living life against a back drop of dread, from the Mock the Week comedian

Description

A refreshingly honest look at modern life, and how to get out of living it.

Rhys has lived his entire life with a backdrop of dread. As a child, the sentence he feared most was "come downstairs and say hello." Age 5 he feigned injury to avoid dancing at a wedding, and 25 years later, he celebrated when the venue set on fire moments before what would've been the biggest gig of his life.

You'll Like It When You Get There is a guide to life from someone who doesn't want to do anything, and an exploration of why you possibly shouldn't either. Part comic memoir, part essay collection, join Rhys as he avoids not just social engagements but big life milestones too, like getting married and having children. A deep dive into regret, humiliation, failure and pretending to be French for personal gain. From the Wild West of early internet chatrooms to the sticky circus of the Kavos strip, from redesigning therapy after completing it in just four sessions, to having a full existential breakdown when a Buddhist monk asks him for 5 stars on TripAdvisor.

If you've ever celebrated plans being cancelled with an Andy Murray fist pump, secretly prayed for another lockdown, attempted to start your own nickname, or tried - in vain - to control the outcome of everything you do, then welcome to the club. We close early, obviously.

You'll Like It When You Get There is at once hilarious, insightful and inspiring - even if what it's inspiring you to do is absolutely nothing. This is the introvert's manifesto, the overthinker's dossier, the diary of a wimpy kid.

Reviews of Rhys:

"Scintillating stand-up" Times

"Master of the lightning-paced, gag-dense, precision-delivered" Guardian

"A superb tour de force of observational comedy, delivered with punchy, rapid-fire certainty" Chortle

About the Author

Rhys James was born in Swindon, Wiltshire in 1991, before moving to Hertfordshire where he grew up. Age 9 he played the title character in a local production of 'Oliver Twist'. Since then he has gone on to perform stand-up comedy around the world, including six solo shows at the Edinburgh fringe festival and two international sell-out tours.

As seen on Live At The Apollo, QI, A League Of Their Own and many more, Rhys was most notably one of the final regulars on BBC's Mock The Week. He has created three critically acclaimed shows for BBC Radio 4, including the ARIA nominated 'Rhysearch'. His Dave lecture 'I Stalk Strangers Online' was a viral hit, and his debut DVD 'Spilt Milk' sold out completely in just 90 minutes. There was one copy.