
I've Got a New Complaint
Essays on Aging Disgracefully and Other Small Disasters
Amazon Publishing · Print & ebook · September 1, 2026
A brutally and hilariously unfiltered look at being middle-aged-plus in an absurd modern world by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Excuse Me While I Disappear.
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- Who it’s for
- Laurie Notaro takes on middle age, caregiving, and everyday indignities with sharp, unfiltered humor.
- Themes
- Middle age and aging, Caregiving for elderly parents, Finding agency through humor
- Genres
- Humor Essays, Aging & Later Life, Adult Humor
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Start with this bookAbout this book
A brutally and hilariously unfiltered look at being middle-aged-plus in an absurd modern world by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Excuse Me While I Disappear. Laurie Notaro can time travel. The portal is Scottsdale, Arizona. Once inside her elderly parents’ home, she’s a child again—who’s two years away from collecting Social Security.
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Caught between generations, Laurie is young enough to be thrust into the role of caregiver yet old enough to be grappling with her own creaking bones and analog life skills. It’s an awkward age. Navigating it is just a matter of winging it. She runs rampant through Italy with her American driving skills. Infuriating office politics leave her little choice but revenge and some hexes. Laurie also confronts a high school bully at a reunion, considers an elaborate funeral at a puppet theater, and fancies an ideal retirement plan involving bank robbery. As for sex at sixty, honestly, it’s a challenge. The parts are a little rusty (at least they sound that way). Regardless of indignity or mishap, the #1 New York Times bestselling author finds agency with the sharp wit of a woman who refuses to go gently into that good night. © 2026 by Laurie Ann Notaro, all rights reserved.
Middle-Age Indignities
Laurie Notaro takes on middle age, caregiving, and everyday indignities with sharp, unfiltered humor.
Come here for
- The awkward overlap of caring for elderly parents and creaking bones
- Italy mishaps, office hexes, and a high school reunion confrontation
Expect
- Essays touching on sex at sixty and an elaborate puppet-theater funeral
- A retirement scheme involving bank robbery
Where it sits
| Adult Humor | 50% |
|---|---|
| Aging & Later Life | 48% |
| Humor Essays | 44% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Women's Lives
- Personal Memoirs
- Adult Humor
- Authors
- Laurie Notaro
- Publisher
- Amazon Publishing
- Published
- September 1, 2026
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Middle age and aging · Caregiving for elderly parents · Finding agency through humor
- Reading lane
- Women's Lives