“Laughter is my favorite survival skill.” — Annabelle Gurwitch

Adventures by the Book® is delighted to welcome beloved actress, comedian, and bestselling author Annabelle Gurwitch for a special Life & Laughter Adventure as part of our Inside the Author’s Studio series. Join us for an intimate, early-evening gathering inside a private San Diego home, where Annabelle will share the wit, warmth, and fearless honesty that have made her both a fan favorite and a cultural truth-teller.

In her new book, The End of My Life Is Killing Me, Annabelle chronicles her experience living with Stage 4 lung cancer with the same sharp humor and emotional clarity that defined her earlier award-winning work. The result is a memoir that is unexpectedly joyful, profoundly human, and—yes—laugh-out-loud funny. This conversation will explore not only her writing and her creative process, but also the ways humor, community, and storytelling illuminate even life’s most challenging chapters.

Guests will enjoy a cozy, salon-style discussion, light bites and sweets, a signed copy of Annabelle’s book, and the rare opportunity to connect up close with an author whose voice is as courageous as it is hilarious. Come share an evening of resilience, truth-telling, and the kind of heartfelt laughter that reminds us why stories matter.

Registration

To register for the in-person event, simply select the Event Registration (4.19.26) option below, and the address to the private San Diego (Tierrasanta) residence will be provided 3 days prior to the event via email. Due to the special nature of this event, only a limited number of spaces are available.

About the Author and Book

Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of six books and two-time finalist for the Thurber Prize.

Her essays have appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and Hadassah Magazine amongst other publications. Her six books include the New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist I See You Made an Effort.

Annabelle co-hosted the fan favorite Dinner & a Movie on TBS, was a regular commentator for NPR. She is serving in leadership as a patient advocate with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). Her acting credits include: “Seinfeld,””Murphy Brown,””Boston Legal,” and “Dexter.” She is a Jewish mother, a terrible gardener, even worse ukulele player, a lung cancer survivor, and an unrepentant cat lady who lives in Los Angeles.

In her deftly comedic and deeply contemplative memoir, The End of My Life is Killing Me, Annabelle faces life’s biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places. After she received an out-of-the blue diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer, an existential dread set in, but instead of turning into a cancer warrior, Annabelle declared herself a cancer slacker. Her motto: no runs, no ribbons, no religion.

In this hilariously and deeply affecting meditation on mortality, the actress and activist illuminates life with chronic disease, inequities in care, and celebrates tiny victories, the crusty ends of baguettes, the discreet pleasure of sucking at a hobby, and the unshakable bond of female friendship. She upends the notion of living each day as if it were your last, as she discovers you can carpe too much diem, embracing, instead, the extraordinariness of the ordinary.