Annabelle Gurwitch: Being human means ‘Calamity R Us,’ and it’s important to laugh about it

Actress and author Annabelle Gurwitch thought after she sent her kid to college, she’d be coasting into her golden years, taking Zumba classes and enjoying the extra “me time.” Instead, her marriage fell apart, her parents died, she had to get roommates to keep her house, and she got kicked out of her weekly tennis class.

Gurwitch lost a lot. But she never lost her sense of humor. And she’s turned her misfortune into a new book called “You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility.”

“I don’t think any of the calamities that have happened in my life are any different than the calamities everyone [has faced]. … That’s how we are as humans. ‘Calamity R Us.’ So then I’m always thinking, ‘What then?’ … How are we going to live with that? And I continually choose humor,” Gurwitch says. “Humor is one of the only pre-existing conditions that I don’t get penalized for in my health insurance.”

Annabelle Gurwitch’s new book about loss and humor is called “You’re Leaving When? Adventures in Downward Mobility.” Image courtesy of Counterpoint.