Fired!

If you’ve ever been fired, you know it sucks big time. Fired!: Tales of the Canned, Canceled, Downsized and Dismissed adds some levity to the situation with real-life tales from the firing lines. Actress-author Annabelle Gurwitch, who herself had the honor of being fired and told she looked “retarded” by Woody Allen, compiled about five dozen humorous essays, many from the famous and semi-famous including Tim Allen, Morgan Spurlock, Andy Dick and Bob Saget. Writer Andy Borowitz got the boot from Facts of Life because he didn’t “get” Tootie. Felicity Huffman found out she was off the bill of a Neil Simon play by reading it in the newspaper. D. L. Hughley was fired from McDonald’s, but kept wearing the uniform because he didn’t want to disappoint his mom. Other contributors tell of stints as a birthday party clown, coat check girl and clerk at a Beta-only video store—all ending with the big, fat “F” word, sometimes for the best. It’s an entertaining book, with essays just the right length for a visit to the toilet.