Dead People Suck cover art

Dead People Suck

A Guide for Survivors of the Newly Departed

Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Dead People Suck

By: Laurie Kilmartin
Narrated by: Laurie Kilmartin
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $16.99

Buy Now for $16.99

About this listen

This program is read by the author and includes material recorded in front of a live audience

An honest, irreverent, laugh-out-loud audiobook guide to coping with death and dying from the Emmy-nominated writer and New York Times bestselling co-author of Sh*tty Mom, Laurie Kilmartin.


Death is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes the best way to cope is through humor. No one knows this better than comedian Laurie Kilmartin. She made headlines by live-tweeting her father’s time in hospice and her grieving process after he passed, and channeled her experience into a comedy special, 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad. Dead People Suck is her hilarious guide to surviving (sometimes) death, dying, and grief without losing your mind.

Whether you are old and about to die, sick and about to die, or with a loved one who is about to pass away or who has passed away, there’s something for you. With chapters like “Are You An Old Man With Daughters? Please Shred Your Porn,” “If Cancer was an STD, It Would Be Cured By Now,” and “Unsubscribing Your Dead Parent from Tea Party Emails,” Laurie Kilmartin guides listeners through some of life’s most complicated moments with equal parts heart and sarcasm.

Entertainment & Celebrities Grief & Loss Literary History & Criticism Personal Development United States World Literature Celebrity Comedy Funny Heartfelt Witty

Critic Reviews

"Many memoirs by musicians include little stingers of their music between audiobook chapters, so why not let comedians include a few bits of live performance in their audiobooks? Laurie is as hilarious in print as she is on stage, finding humor in the darkest of subjects: hospice care, cancer, and death. Sprinkled throughout the essays are pieces of her stand-up on the subject of being parentless at 48. I hope more comedians are inspired both by her material and her choices for the way she recorded it." -Thrillist

Dead People Suck but this guide absolutely doesn’t. I’ve never read something so cynical that’s also so life-affirming.”
—Patton Oswalt, comedian and New York Times bestselling author of Silver Screen Fiend and Zombie Spaceship Wasteland

“I don’t know how Laure Kilmartin managed to make this book both heart-breaking and hilarious, but she did. It’s honest and uncomfortable and brilliantly useful.”
—Cynthia Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest

"The comedian and Emmy-nominated writer for "Conan" narrates her hilarious and heartfelt how-tos for coping with grief." -New York Times Book Review

"
[I]nfused with Kilmartin's wit and buoyed by personal stories. It's a mix of live readings and studio tracks. It's a tug at the heart strings, a cup of cold water in your face, and a lot of laughs." -Department of Tangents podcast

"
Writing and performing this book must have been therapeutic for [Laurie] Kilmartin. It might be for you, too." -Providence Journal

All stars
Most relevant
I think death can be much funnier than what is portrayed here but it's light enough.

A couple of laughs

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.