I Wouldn't Do That If I Were Me

Wall Street Journal columnist and New York Times bestselling author Jason Gay takes a humorous and insightful look at life in the face of a seemingly overwhelming series of ongoing societal changes and phenomena that we never anticipated, exploring the effects on parenthood, marriage, friendship, work, play, and all aspects of the strange lives we find ourselves living.

Like many of us, Jason Gay didn't see this coming: a reshaped world, on edge, often stuck at home, questioning everything, trying to navigate a digital landscape that changes how we think, parent, coach, and live. With a series of topical and interconnected personal pieces, Gay comically takes on this new state of being, looking for the optimism and joy in the face of discouragement. He embarks on a rowdy ride with his son to the Daytona 500, weeks before lockdown. He confides his hilariously banal texts with his wife. He allows his mom to kidnap the family cat. From the modest thrills of Little League parenting to reckoning with the impending death of a close friend, Gay's essays run the gamut of modern life and he approaches it all with humility, grace, and more than a few laughs.

“--- Praise for Jason Gay and Little Victories”

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"These vignettes are meant to run the gamut of modern life and how he approaches each of them with humility, grace, and some laughs. Those are three traits all people should have, and in this book, as in his Journal columns, that humanity shines through."--Brooklyn Digest
"A fun read."--Queens Chronicle
"Really funny."--"Midday" with Tom Hall (WYPR)
"An insightful look at life in the face of huge societal change... discusses a range of topics from parenthood, to marriage, to friendship all with humility, grace, and a good laugh."--The Denizen
"This is a likable writer who's very good at wry commentary on modern life.... The joy of a collection like this has... everything to do with its narrative energy--which Mr. Gay provides by the truckload. He dives right into telling funny stories about everything from taxes to golf to fishing.... He writes with the kind of lovable self-deprecation he uses throughout the book.... Bright, thoroughly readable."--Vineyard Gazette
"Gay is the Seinfeld of parenthood."--Zibby Owens
"Required reading....Gay ponders life with humor and grace."--The New York Post
"This delightful, eclectic collection of essays...offers something like a philosophy on modern life, dressed down with self-deprecating wit and a hearty dash of sarcasm. Gay rushes headlong into his mistakes, watches them compile, and extracts if not wisdom, a kind of wise resignation that such snafus are inevitable and better delighted in than mourned. The opening essay...manages to be both light on its feet and philosophical--an impressive juxtaposition considering it's extracted from a trip to the Daytona 500 with his six-year-old son. Whether he's dissecting the exquisite banality of texting...or illicit pet transfers in the early pandemic days...Gay is a delightfully personable guide to our strange times."--Vogue
"Witty Wall Street Journal sports columnist Gay shares self-deprecating vignettes and observations.... Each of the 32 chapters, including musings on work from home and Mars travel, could stand alone, while together they form a family man's memoir. Capturing the minutiae of everyday life, Gay laughs at it all and tries to make sense of it during the pandemic era. Gay's self-deprecating linked essays are thought-provoking and funny, which is a winning combination."--Booklist
"[An] entertaining collection.... Gay's winningly self-deprecating voice will keep readers hooked. This is just the ticket for fans of Jim Gaffigan-style dad humor."--Library Journal

"[A] winning set of essays...right next to Dave Barry on the guy-humor shelf.... Goofy dad humor lives, and it's still good for what ails you."

--Kirkus Reviews
"Little Victories manages to be hilarious, helpful, and profound, in one unpredictable mix. It made me happy."--Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project
---Praise for Jason Gay and Little Victories
"[Gay] balances insights with a droll, self-deprecating outlook...no small feat given the difficulty in providing guidance that is at once relevant--neither too specific nor too vague--and also genuinely funny."--Kirkus Reviews
"A hilarious, heartwarming set of essays covering such mundane topics as parenthood, exercise, office life, travel, and the holidays. . . . Readers will alternately feel the urge to laugh and cry at Gay's irreverent, witty writing. His insights on each topic are spot-on yet gentle. Any readers who pick up this book will finish it convinced that . . . [it] will make their lives more enjoyable, and perhaps even make them better people."--Publishers Weekly
"A title for everyone, not just sports fans, and all will root for Gay and his "little victories" and feel inspired, too."--Booklist
"Hilarious.... [A] tasty collection of advice."--People
"I loved this book. Jason Gay's Little Victories is funny, wise, direct, deceptively straight-forward and incredibly moving. As soon as I was finished reading it, I put it in the mail to my father, along with a reminder of my love. Such reminders, after all, are what we are here for, as this story--well--reminds us."--Elizabeth Gilbert, bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
"Jason Gay's rules for living will make you laugh out loud, and also make a whole lot of sense. This is an advice book that doesn't take itself too seriously and is all the more valuable for it."--Charles Duhigg, bestselling author of The Power of Habit
"The perfect advice for people who never take any."--Deadspin
"The thought of leaning in makes my neck ache, and taking seven steps to accomplish things only makes me want to lie down. Thankfully, Jason Gay has written a life guide for people like me--and you. He can't get the hang of grilling corn--and he's okay with that. He's faced cancer, unemployment, the death of a loved one, and fathered two kids after many setbacks--I think pretty much all at the same time--and has written a unique, heartfelt book about what he's learned from it all. Thanks to Jason, I've crossed trekking to the South Pole off my to-do list. Instead I'll focus on something that'll really make me happy: eating brownies while listening to some pre-1978 Stevie Wonder. See? You can do this! We all can!"--Diane Muldrow, bestselling author of Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Little Golden Book

Jason Gay is a humor and sports columnist for the Wall Street Journal, where his work has been honored by organizations including the Deadline Club, the New York Press Club, and the Society of Professional Journalists, the latter of which named him Sports Columnist of the Year in 2016 and 2020. He is the author of the 2015 New York Times bestseller Little Victories and a finalist for the 2015 Thurber Prize in American humor. Gay s work has appeared in such magazines as Vogue, Rolling Stone, GQ, Harper s Bazaar, and Outside. He served as Regis Philbin s co-host on the Fox Sports Channel s sports show The Crowd Goes Wild, and he is a regular guest on TheBill Simmons Podcast. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his family.

Wall Street Journal columnist and New York Times bestselling author Jason Gay takes a humorous and insightful look at life in the face of a seemingly overwhelming series of ongoing societal changes and phenomena that we never anticipated, exploring the effects on parenthood, marriage, friendship, work, play, and all aspects of the strange lives we find ourselves living.Like many of us, Jason Gay didn't see this coming: a reshaped world, on edge, often stuck at home, questioning everything, trying to navigate a digital landscape that changes how we think, parent, coach, and live. With a series of topical and interconnected personal pieces, Gay comically takes on this new state of being, looking for the optimism and joy in the face of discouragement. He embarks on a rowdy ride with his son to the Daytona 500, weeks before lockdown. He confides his hilariously banal texts with his wife. He allows his mom to kidnap the family cat. From the modest thrills of Little League parenting to reckoning with the impending death of a close friend, Gay's essays run the gamut of modern life and he approaches it all with humility, grace, and more than a few laughs.

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