Review of "The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo: A Memoir" by Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer

Amy Schumer is an American stand-up comic and actress. She wrote and starred in the 2015 movie 'Trainwreck', made the entertaining film "Snatched" (with Goldie Hawn) in 2017, has a sketch comedy series called 'Inside Amy Schumer', does specials for Comedy Central, and tours the country with her live stand-up show.







Schumer is also an activist who uses her bully pulpit to rail against shaming women for their looks and weight, and to support responsible gun ownership - especially since a deranged gunman opened fire at a showing of 'Trainwreck', killing two people and wounding nine.


Amy Schumer speaking out against gun violence

In this memoir, Amy talks about her childhood, family, boyfriends, sexual peccadilloes, jobs, career, social/political advocacy, and more. Though many of the stories are entertaining and funny, the underlying theme is serious - particularly since Amy's been through some rough patches in her life.

When Amy was a child her family was rich, thanks to a high-end baby furniture business that sold European imports.


Toddler Amy Schumer with her father Gordon Schumer 


Young Amy Schumer

The Schumers had a big home in Manhattan, drove fancy cars, took exotic vacations, and enjoyed all the trappings of wealth. Amy had a happy childhood, and started performing as a little girl - putting on shows for her family that her delighted dad always filmed.


Amy Schumer started performing when she was a child

In time, commercial competition drove Amy's father out of business, and the family's economic status took a nosedive. Still, Amy and her siblings were happy, and Amy didn't mind the changes to her lifestyle. The Schumers moved to Long Island, went to Temple every week, and threw Amy a nice Bat Mitzvah - which she used as an opportunity for one of her performances.

Things started to go badly wrong, however, when Amy's father got sick with multiple sclerosis, which "hit like a tidal wave." Amy's anecdotes about her dad's illness include two stories about his uncontrollable diarrhea - at Adventureland and the airport - which are part of her comedy routine. (I can't say I found them too funny though.) Over time, Mr. Schumer's declining health made it necessary to move him to a care home, but Amy notes that he never showed any signs of self pity.




Amy Schumer with her father Gordon Schumer after he was struck with multiple sclerosis

Around the time Mr. Schumer started to decline, Amy's mother had an affair that led to divorce. To make things worse, Mrs. Schumer's boyfriend was Lou, the father of Amy's best friend. So Amy lost her best friend; felt like a spectacle in the community; stopped going to Temple; developed severe headaches; got shooting pains when she passed Mia at school; and lost her father to a small, cramped apartment. To top it off, Mrs. Schumer's affair with Lou ended after a couple of months, and she went on to have one relationship after another.


Amy Schumer's mother Sandy Schumer


Amy Schumer with her mother Sandy Schumer

Amy avers that she grew up thinking her mother was a saint, but the divorce - and its aftermath - demonstrated that Mrs. Schumer was a flawed human being. Still, Amy remained very close to her mother and continually defended her - though Amy now acknowledges that her mother caused much hardship.

At fourteen, Amy volunteered at a summer camp for people with special needs. She confesses that she took the position because her crush, Brett, worked there - and "If I fell on his penis and got pregnant, he'd have to marry me." In any case, Brett liked another girl. However, Amy was a wonderful help to her charges.....women over thirty-five who had Down syndrome, schizophrenia, or other problems.


Adolescent Amy Schumer

Amy was a hustler all her life. She got her first job as a infant, because her parents needed a model for their store's baby cribs, and "they knew she'd work for free." As a teenager, Amy became a shoplifter, and was quite successful until she and her sister pulled off a HUGE heist at Bloomingdales. This led to a felony charge and the end of that career. Amy's next (and best) hustle was making people laugh. While in college, Amy started doing stand-up routines at comedy clubs. Amy struggled in those years, and - during and after college - took jobs as a bartender, housepainter, fitness instructor, pedi-cab driver, and more.



For budding comics, Amy has this advice: "If you do a ton of open mikes, and do bringers (bring paying guests to be allowed to go on), and if you bark (stand on the street corner inviting people to your show), and do it several times every night, you get a little better. It takes years and years to be good." In Amy's case, she GOT GOOD, and GOT RICH - and she now uses her money to have fun, treat her friends and family, and leave $1,000 tips if she feels like it.


Amy Schumer broke into show business doing standup comedy

One of Amy's biggest mistakes was hooking up with a young man called Dan, who she met when she was eighteen. Amy liked Dan right away and - though he wasn't interested in her - pursued him relentlessly. When Amy was 21, she and Dan moved to Las Vegas, where they "worked, ate, drank, and f**ked." Sometimes Dan got jealous or angry, and would give Amy a shove, or squeeze her arm too hard, leaving bruises. These were always 'accidents.' Furthermore, Dan would criticize Amy's looks, make fun of her, and humiliate her.

Amy asserts that she wasn't passive and meek, and didn't think she was in an abusive relationship. Amy confused anger and aggression with love, and says, "The worse Dan acted, the more I stood by him." The situation came to a head when the couple returned to New York, and Dan pushed Amy onto the hood of a car, purposely banging her head and elbow. Later, back in their apartment, Dan pulled a knife. Amy notes, "This was my moment of clarity. I raced out of the apartment, knocked on neighbors' doors, and took shelter in an elderly couple's apartment." Still, Amy didn't call the police.....and later reconciled with Dan briefly.

Now Amy admits, "I was a domestic violence victim." She goes on to talk about domestic abuse affecting women of all economic levels, and from all walks of life.

Amy wraps up the book with a story about her lower back tattoo, which is not only crooked, but raised because it got infected. Still, Amy wears her tattoo proudly.....and why not?



Much of the book is taken from Amy's comedy skits, and there are plenty of laughs. I especially enjoyed a story about Amy writing an article about sex for 'Men's Health' magazine, which she expected to feature a picture of herself. Instead, the magazine illustrated the piece with photos of three beautiful young models. Amy gave the editor what for (in a nice way) and observes: "I don't look like the models they use in Men's Health - girls with huge boobs on what looks like a boy's body. But I don't accept that's the way it should be. Other women are beautiful too." Right on Amy.



In the book, Amy also discusses her heavy drinking (in college) and blackouts; her hijinks with her sister Kim; her half-brother Jason; her introvert personality; the biggest penis she ever saw (it's a whopper); the people who work on her show; and much more.


Amy Schumer with her sister Kim


Amy Schumer with her half-brother Jason

I enjoyed this memoir and recommend it to Amy Schumer fans.



Rating: 4 stars