YOU'RE DOING GREAT!

A comedian muses on life, love, and simple pleasures.

Host of a daily SiriusXM show as well as a podcast, Papa gives ample evidence of his “ability to live on the happy side of the street” in a collection of funny, warmhearted essays whose overarching messages are, “we should be grateful for what we have” and “shouldn’t take life all that seriously.” The author is thankful for many things, including coffee (at the first sip each morning, he writes, “my entire being knows the day is about to improve”); baking bread, which he does with unabashed pleasure; a weekly date night, which he claims keeps a marriage happy; gathering for dinner with his wife and two daughters (“I just want to look up and see them and have them see me and realize we’re family. That’s why we eat together”); and indulging his desires at 7-Eleven stores, “crammed with everything you could ever need or want, just waiting for your arrival like delicious outposts on the modern-day prairie.” Papa encourages everyone to find someone to love, which, with 7 billion people in the world, should not be difficult. Love, he writes, is “finding someone whose flaws you can put up with.” Certainly, a few things annoy the author: loud, rude people, for example, who invade places that should be quiet and soothing, like breakfast rooms of motels. But if a few essays display irritation, most are generously encouraging. “Our minds are our worst critics,” he writes. “We do it to ourselves.” To keep thinking positively, Papa advises, “you need to avoid anything that can bring you down.” The most delightful essay is a nostalgic paean, reminiscent of E.B. White, to the funky, close-knit Manhattan neighborhood where he and his wife first lived: “we loved it, we loved each other, and even if we wanted to leave, our roots were growing deeper.”

Entertaining essays from a genial guide.