Start Without Me: (I’ll Be There in a Minute)

In his latest essay collection (following Do You Mind If I Cancel???), Janetti (a producer of TV, including Family Guy and Will & Grace) recalls growing up in New York City with his mother, father, and sister. A consistent theme of Janetti’s essays is the experience of not fitting in (at home; at school); he describes struggling to make friends as a child and says it was easier for him to relate to adults than to kids his own age. Some of Janetti’s are funnier than others, and some might be too unrelatable to readers. The memoir’s highlight is Janetti’s account of his mother’s and his aunt’s conversations about his grandmother, who died shortly before the author was born; here Janetti reveals a softer side of himself, explores his Italian roots, and reflects on his grandmother’s life. As in his previous book, here Janetti balances humor and seriousness in writing about the moments in life that have defined him.