Rejected tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Cancelled.

Friedman, John ed. Rejected tales of the Failed, Dumped, and Cancelled.
Villard Books/Random 2009 249p 14.00 978-0-3455-0096-0 hs/adult

An entertaining collection of essays by writers or performers that either received rejection notices or stories of how that author had been rejected at the outset of their career.
Anyone who has suffered rejection will be reassured and entertained by the stories in this book. Each one tells about a painful story, in a humorous manner. In, "A Little Bad" Meredith Hoffa tells how life was good in the sixth grade ... that is until she got a bad haircut and the boys at a party told her they didn't think she was pretty anymore. Her solution was to focus on growing her hair. As if she could make it happen. Meredith is a former journalist and is now performing comedy in L.A..
Several of the stories are more than memorable. Peter Hyman's, "You are the Most Obnoxious Person Alive." describes an article written for New York Magazine. A month after the publication of this self-described, "lightweight, modestly funny ... story with a mix of facts and frivolity he received an E-mail describing him as the most obnoxious person alive. Hyman responded by preparing a PowerPoint addressing each of the letter writer's key points.
The variety of rejection is wide in scope and should provide a balm for those who's feeling are tender. TS