I still have it...I just can’t remember where I put it: Confessions of a fiftysomething. Rita Rudner. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2008.

I have long been a fan of the comedy of Rita Rudner. She never fails to make me laugh when I watch her stand-up comedy. She is also a talented writer and actress who wrote and starred in one of my favorite films, Peter’s Friends. Currently, Rita Rudner is appearing at Harrah’s in Las Vegas. She has a wonderful website, RitaFunny.com that features, among other things, a comic strip, a gallery of photographs and videos of her performances.

Rita Rudner was born in Miami, Florida in 1953. She graduated high school at the age of 15 and moved to New York City at the age of 16, where she started her career as a dancer on Broadway before switching to comedy. She has had a long and varied career which has included a television series in England, a stint at the Edinburgh Festival where she met her husband Martin Bergman, a tour of Australia where she became engaged to her husband (the couple have now been married for 20 years), and several movies. Rita Rudner has also written several books; both non-fiction and fiction.

Rita Rudner’s latest book is I Still Have It...I Just Can’t Remember where I Put It: Confessions of a Fiftysomething.  It is a series of essays about her life as a woman in her fifties. There are some very funny lines in this book. I found that it is a great book to read during the hot days of August. The chapters are short, the writing is crisp and you feel better after having read it. There is no intellectual thought required in reading this book, although some of her comedy is very deadpan; just enjoy the comedy and laugh.

Various titles of chapters are:  And Away It Went, Christmas Rap, Ginboree, Please Don’t Be My Neighbor, and It’s My Potty and I’ll Cry If I Want To. One chapter that was touching and heart warming, with flashes of comedy, was the one about her dog Bonkers.  Bonkers actually performed in her act with her.  Also, several of the chapters talk about her young daughter, Molly who the book is dedicated to.  She and her husband adopted Molly several years ago and she is obviously the light of their lives.

I would recommend you read this book if you want to have a laugh. It is especially recommended for those of us who are over 50 and female; you will recognize yourself in a lot of the stories. Her way of talking and telling a story is the type of humor and comedy that has always appealed to me.  Pick up a copy, you won’t be disappointed.