I received an advanced review copy for free from NetGalley

This is a lovely, uplifting book that couldn't have been published at a better time. Without sugarcoating ANYTHING (thank you, Tom Papa, for keeping it incredibly real), Tom Papa finds a way to combine his sharp humor and light-hearted story telling and make a book full of stories that deeply resonated. It actually made me feel better about myself- I know that sounds cheesy, but Papa points out that we are all struggling, we're all on diets, we're all trying to get everything done, and for the most part, we're all doing a really decent job at it. I normally don't get a perspective shift on myself from books, even the most serious psychological ones, but this is one of those rare books that made me start to see things in a different way. It's not full blown enlightenment or anything (and it shouldn't be- that stuff never lasts, at least not for me) but I really do feel like I see things in a slightly better light after having had spent time with this book.

Highly recommended.

This was ok, it was a lot of humorous essays about life. Not my favorite, but I still love Tom Papa.

Funny, upbeat, light and extremely enjoyable, this one I took my time with, wanting to savor it and I know I will be re-reading it again very soon.

I will also be looking for his stand up now as he is really funny, It's exactly what we all need right now!

*Huge thanks to Tom Papa, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for this copy which I chose to read and all opinions are my own*

What do you need during a global pandemic? Relatable musings from a life laughed-out-loud. Tom Papa delivers short excerpts of wisdom about how not taking yourself too seriously will greatly improve your happiness, if not your situation. The chapters are separated among bite-size sections of circumstance, where everyday language and snark made me constantly wonder if Mr. Papa had read my thoughts.

From bad decisions to family dynamics, there's something here for everyone. After being quarantined for so long due to the pandemic, I needed some human connection. If not direct contact, I felt a bit closer to my fellow humans.

I found myself laughing out loud, which is hard for an author to accomplish without the benefit of body language that stage comedy affords. In times like these, we could all use a good laugh. So unplug, kick up your feet, and check out this book. Don't forget - You're Doing Great!

You're Doing Great: And Other Reasons to Stay Alive was a great read by Tom Papa. This book is written by comedian Tom Papa contains a heartwarming group of short essays where he explores his favorite subjects. This was a great read by the author and comedian.

I appreciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

Hilarious!! I have been a HUGE fan of Tom Papa ever since I saw him on Netflix!

His humor is clean, precise, and relatable! This was also a very fast read- if you have the tissues handy to wipe your eyes from laughing so much!!

His humor is so great especially when he talks about his family- I had pains in my stomach reading this book! I can’t wait to listen to this on my Kindle Audible!!

I absolutely love Tom Papa's Out in America segment on Live from Here on NPR but I did not love this book. Maybe it is just to humor can be hard to write and easier to perform but I do not think I laughed once while reading this. This book is a series of essays, like most humor writing, about how no one is perfect and we are all doing just fine. I think my issue is that I expect the essays to be more like Out in America and they were not.

I first learned of Tom Papa from listening to him on the @joerogan podcast and since then I have become a huge fan. When I saw this book on @netgalley I knew I had to request it.
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This was a really fun, quick and easy read. Each chapter Tom discusses a topic such as Date Nights, Tubing, 7-Eleven, Staying Positive and more. He tells a funny story on each topic related to his own life experience and then relates it back to the general population.
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There are many funny stories where I found myself laughing out loud. I also highlighted some great quotes such as:
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“It may say 7-Eleven on the sign, but inside this is the Cooperstown of snacks.”
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“Candy apples are another horrible lie about a good time. They’re awful. First off, they’ve got it all backward. Why would you put fruit on the inside of candy? So you do all this work, get through the candy outside, and your reward is a mealy apple? What kind of incentive is that? How about if you get through the world’s most boring fruit”
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This book is for everyone and I think it’s definitely worth the read.

This book is such a fun time!!!! For those unfamiliar with Tom Papa, I HIGHLY recommend looking him up on Netflix and watching one of his fabulous stand up specials. They are amazing and hilarious and so so relatable (especially if you are a parent; I am not but I listened to one of his specials with my boss, who is, and she was absolutely rolling!).

This essay collection is a companion to his newest special, You’re Doing Great! It contains many of the same stories but also so much more. So even if you’ve already seen the special, this is definitely worth the read! It expands on those stories and also has a lot of other fun extra content!

I related to so many things throughout this book and laughed through the entire thing. I grew up in the 90s but my parents were old school and I related to so many of his childhood stories. Especially growing up as Fan People and your dad buying a Pachinko machine at a garage sale. Every story is absolutely hilarious! I highlighted so many passages to revisit later and laugh all over again.

This can be a really quick, easy read or even a good one to grab and read a chapter here and there if you need a little pick me up. All of it is wonderful and it will definitely keep you giggling throughout! I highly recommend both this book and any of Papa’s other works! He is an expert at his craft! I can't rave about this book or his specials enough. If you haven't already, please read either of his books or listen to his stand up. You definitely won't regret it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the chance to read and review this book! It was an absolute treat!! I know I will definitely be picking up a finished copy of this book and reading again in the future! (Or rereading my favorite stories when I need a little pick me up!)

I've had the pleasure of seeing Tom Papa's standup a few times in LA (typically as a "friend" in one of those "X Comedian & Friends" shows), and he's delightful. Imagine a big Italian guy who delivers short narrative jokes with the same intonation as Jim Gaffigan, and you've got Tom Papa.

You're Doing Great! is a collection of very short essays on absolutely random topics, stories and tidbits from Papa's life, advice, and cheerful reassurances that you are doing completely fine, and you should stop putting so much pressure on yourself. This is a great piece of wisdom right here. One of my favorite recurring bits in this book is the idea that you should eat the damn bread, eat the cookies, eat the White Castles, and maybe exercise enough to not die. Life is too short to go on a juice cleanse - just do what makes you happy. And if that's gorging on enough Oreos that you feel sick afterwards, then do it.

Most of the essays that I enjoyed in this collection were not actually these positive self-help bits, but were just funny stories from Papa's life. (Side note: sometimes I feel like essay collections like this are just loosely strewn together by a vague theme to sell it as a cohesive collection. There's nothing wrong with it just being funny stories from a funny comedian!) I enjoyed Papa's traumatic tale of of receiving venik from a Russian banya, of tubing down a white-water river in upstate New York, and of the nasty way his wife plays Scrabble.

Overall, these are just some light, humorous, enjoyable stories - a perfect, easy read for a Saturday afternoon. I imagine that the audiobook, if narrated by Papa himself, would be just as comforting. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I came across Tom in an appearance on a comedy tv show and loved him right away. Finding someone who can make you laugh at the simplest and basic things in life is harder than you think. This book has come at the perfect time where we need to laugh and find comfort in really knowing that we ARE doing great or at least trying. Thanks to him I've found some much needed laughter and will reread this again when I need a fix.
I received an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

I hadn’t heard of Tom Papa before so I’d didn’t know what to expect. This book is a way to tell it’s readers that they’re doing great. Think you’re ugly? We are ALL weird looking! That ghost in your house? Make it your friend! This was a fun, uplifting book. It was so easy to relate to everything the author said and made me really like him. Guess I’ll have to go watch his stand up on Netflix now.

You have to love the sheer tenacity of Tom Papa. He has been around the entertainment field for more than two decades. He has an honest view of his career. His book reads like he talks it has a strong voice and a clear vision. It doesn’t name drop too often,and only to round out the story. Enjoyable, and engaging, this is what I remember. Happy reading.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for giving me a free copy of the uncorrected e-galley version of <i>You're Doing Great!</i>

This was my first experiment with a NetGalley-provided book, and I deem it highly successful. Not only did NetGalley make it very easy to obtain my copy, but the book is great!

Tom Papa and I must share a lot of DNA. If I believed in such things, I'd be tempted to surmise we're soulmates. Whatever it is, Tom Papa gets me. On almost every page, I found myself nodding along in recognition as he narrates one hilarious life event after another.

Papa's prose style is folksy and profound, and his writing makes me giggle, belly-laugh, and sometimes even laugh 'til the tears come. On a couple of occasions, his musings were poignant enough to send me reaching for a facial tissue. Not too many people I know are as self-aware and as good at humorizing their lives as Tom Papa is. He's one of those authors I would truly love to hang out and share some good red wine, cheese, and some of his homemade bread with.

I have lamented elsewhere and too often the sad state of copy-editorial affairs in much of modern writing. I was tickled to find that this uncorrected e-galley contained less minor errors than many of the final versions of books I've read in the past few years.

If you're able to get your hands on a copy of <i>You're Doing Great!</i> when it comes out, I highly recommend you do so. It's timely, its message is sorely needed right now, and I have a hunch you'll love it. It being the time of Covid-19 and the worst American economic crisis since the Great Depression, we live in trying times to say the least. I myself have come dangerously close to succumbing to despair, and this book pulled me out of the depths and cheered me up. Thank you, Tom Papa, for this virtual hug of a book. You're doing great!

'Tom Papa is a little worried about you. You seem stressed, overworked and, frankly, a little mixed up.

Everyone is fighting an overwhelming feeling that things are getting worse, that we should be doing more, that we’re not good enough. Well, life isn't perfect. There have always been problems and there always will be. You can fight for the things you believe in, you can work really, really hard, but you shouldn't lose track of the fact that while you’re doing all that, life is flying by at lightning-fast speed. If you actually take a breath and look around you’ll realize you’re actually doing great.

Here’s the thing: We live in an amazing time filled with airplanes, scooters, and peanut butter cups. We have air conditioning, blenders, and martini shakers. It's time to refocus, enjoy it all, and stop waiting for something better! Relax with comedian and Live from Here writer and performer Tom Papa as he explores his favorite subjects in 75 essays, including:

You Don't Have to Live Your Best Life
Don't Open the Mail
I'm So Baked
I Love Your Love Handles 
Don't Go Tubing
Shut Up and Eat

Recalibrate, turn off your device, and open your eyes to a better reality: You’re doing great!'
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3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

You're Doing Great! is stand-up comedian Tom Papa's second book. It is a light-hearted take on the popular self-help genre, in which Tom tells us we don't have to continue to strive for constant improvement to attain perfection; we're pretty great as we are already.

I've been known to read a self-help book or two and my biggest issue with them is that they can often come across as a bit preachy or give you so much to address that it leaves you feeling overwhelmed instead of inspired. But that is not the case in this book. Each chapter addresses something different that you might find yourself wanting to work on, but this book says: don't sweat the small stuff! Tom gives examples from his own life in the form of amusing anecdotes. Most of the book is dedicated to helping people to accept themselves the way they are, that they are already great as they are. But there are a few chapters with some solid advice that you can follow, like not to do something because it's someone else's idea of fun; if you don't want to do something, don't.

I could recognize bits from his stand-up in the book, which I really enjoyed. I initially worried that his comedy wouldn't come across through text, but I could hear Tom Papa's voice as I read. I haven't read his first book, so I can't comment on if his voice is always this distinctive in his writing, but I would read more from him in the future when looking for something light and amusing to read.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing an eARC of You're Doing Great! by Tom Papa with me for reviewing purposes. This is my honest review.

I think that this book was exactly what I needed to read right now. It came in the form of a series of essays about life. I like the unique take that the author had on the world and I had some fairly decent laughs about humanity as a whole. If you are looking for something uplifting and amusing. I thought that this was a good read. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

With everything going on lately, I was looking for a lighter read and this book delivered. I've heard of Tom Papa, the comedian but now I'm happy to say I know of Tom Papa, the author. Thank you so much to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. It was very much enjoyed and served as a great (funny) reminder to not sweat the small stuff!

I swear that Tom Papa is my brother from another mother. He and I think alike on so many things. Like, a cruise ship is just a floating toilet in the sea, for one or living with a teenager isn't much different than living with a broke coke head, for another. I could go on and on.

Here is a positive message that is delivered with wit and humor. We really are too hard on ourselves much of the time. Maybe we need to re-evaluate because we aren't half bad. Truly. Aren't we all just trying to do our best in this crazy world? Okay, maybe not ALL of us but I think for most of us we have good intentions with good hearts. I'm a firm believer in kindness unless you give me a reason not to be kind.

This book was a nice change of pace for me. I loved Tom since I caught his Rob Zombie comedy special a few years back and when I saw this on NetGalley I nearly squealed in delight because I knew I would love it and I was right. 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book is great for anyone who loves Tom Papa's comedy. One complaint is that the entire introduction was ripped straight from his most recent comedy special.