This was tender and funny and heartbreaking. There were times that had me laughing out loud and times that I was almost in tears. This was such a lovely, raw journey and I feel honored to read so many intimate, raw stories.

The book was well-written and I appreciate her sharing her story. Thank you for letting me read your book.

Great memoir, and an interesting backstory. I wouldn't know what to do in her shoes. The writing in this book is great and I throghouly enjoyed it.

I liked the juxtaposition of the rafting trip and the author's life. Her writing about her mother was touching. I liked this book, but did not love it.

I only gave 2 stars because I found the book painful! I felt like I was reading two books or two accounts. I wasn’t sure I liked that. It did manage to make me cry at one point so I felt her pain, (Spoiler Alert!)especially when she lost someone as important as her Mom! But I probably would not recommend this book. I found some of the content a little too raunchy and the language was uncomfortable for me. Sorry Sara.

I love memoirs, and I really enjoyed this book., While not quite in the league of some of the great memoirs, (The Glass Castle, Educated, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings), this provided an enjoyable romp through an anxious comedians' life, during a trip with her sister through the grand canyon. The trip provides them an opportunity to reconnect and serves as a nice framing story for Schaefer as she reflects on their shared (and individual) past experiences. I laughed out loud while reading this book; I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.

This was a fun story to read, though I was more interested in the rafting trip than the family history (which was needed to inform the context of the rafting trip - so that's on me, not the writer!). I liked the writer's easy tone but it felt a little short to me - not rushed, just not quite fulfilled. It's a good read about sisters and bonding in the Grand Canyon, and it made me want to go rafting in the Colorado, but aside from that, it really didn't leave much of a mark.

This was an interesting memoir about the author's trip through the Grand Canyon with her sister. Schaefer intersperses details of the trip with stories of her childhood and family, She is extremely funny at times, but also includes more difficult stories about topics such as her father's financial scandal, her mother's cancer, and her own struggles with anxiety and depression. Overall, this was an easy read and recommend for those who enjoy memoirs.

Wow I really enjoyed Sara Schafer’s memoir! I loved the journey of Sara and her sister, both the physical road trip and the journey they took back into their childhood. I was seriously unable to put my kindle down! I highly recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the chance to read this ARC! Sara has written a memoir that is both humorous and heartbreaking, encapsulating the emotions that entangle throughout her recollections of life and family. I enjoyed the pace, theme, and unique voice of this story!

This book has been billed as being in the same realm as "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson. Though this is funny and witty like Lawson, it just doesn't quite get there. I feel like this is more of a 3.5-star book, but I upped it to a four because you can't give half stars, and this book is better than a simple three-star rating. Sara Schaefer does a good job taking us back to her childhood via flashbacks while taking a trip through the Grand Canyon with her sister. The flashbacks work well and you can see why Schaefer ended up becoming a comedienne and writer. But certain aspects like her having one-on-one trips with EVERY family member somehow rubbed me the wrong way. Despite some of the tragedy of her childhood, there are certain things like the bevy of trips that make Schaefer seem entitled. Still, nobody is perfect and the book overall is enjoyable despite this shortcoming.

I found GRAND from an excerpt online. I didn't know when I clicked on the excerpt that it wasn't a standalone article. Once I read the funny account, just one small piece of the trip down the Grand Canyon, I knew I had to read the rest because of the writer's sense of humor and writing style.

I wasn't sure I'd like the format of the book--the alternating chapters from the river trip to the older life stories--because I thought it'd be a Bill Bryson kind of story. However, those alternating chapters were done so beautifully and the transitions echoing, were a thing of beauty for writers.

I had no idea who Sara Schaefer was before reading this book. I didn't know her comedic and writing chops. Now that I've devoured this book, I want to know more about her and read/watch more by her. I'm so glad she let us look into the main event: navigating a rafting and camping trip like this a bucket list for my family, but like her, I'm deathly afraid of water & drowning. I'm glad to have read her backstory. It made her courage and adventures even more poignant.



I HIGHLY recommend everyone read GRAND. It's a grand adventure and memoir and a quick read.

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This is a super sweet and fun read, something you can enjoy and get through in an afternoon. Sara Schaefer, a 40-year-old comedian with three siblings, has made it a goal to take a trip with each of her family members separately. Her younger sister Ross has chosen a weeklong trip rafting down the Grand Canyon. Thinking that this is a perfect opportunity to step outside her comfort zone have some true bonding moments with her sister, Sara says yes. Oh, but she's also terrified of water and the dangers that whitewater rafting might bring. Besides the point.

Schaefer uses the trip as a lens through which she tells her life story, each chapter rotating between the rafting journey and her life growing up - her childhood, her parents, her college life, and her career.

I had never heard of Sara Schaefer before, but I really enjoyed her writing style, and I found her story to be relatable. She's had some ups and downs, some tragedy and some success, a messy divorce, loss of a loved one - and she's dealt with struggles that are familiar to all of us: imposter syndrome, anxiety, depression, creative paralysis. The Grand Canyon trip doesn't cure her, but it helps her come to terms with some of her struggles, and it gives her the energy to keep going. Everyone can learn something from this book, or you can read it just for a few laughs and poignant reflections. Thank you to Gallery Books for the ARC!

I really enjoyed Sara Schaefer's memoir about her trip with her sister as they reflect on their childhood. As someone with anxiety, I could really connect to Sara and the parts about church were impossible to put down. Definitely read Grand!

It is a milestone birthday for Sara Schaefer and she has arranged trips with each of her siblings and her father. "Grand" chronicles Sara's trip with her younger sister, Ross, as they head out on a rafting and camping trip through the Grand Canyon. Schaefer moves back and forth often effortlessly from the trip to her life from a young girl weathering a family scandal to her mother's death to her marriage crumbling to her trying to make her way in the comedy world.

This was an enjoyable memoir that really gives you a glimpse into Sara’s life by weaving a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon with her sister with flashbacks to her life story. The two parallel stories were woven very seamlessly together. I appreciated how Sara was reflective without being too serious.

It surprised me how much I liked Grand: A Memoir by Sara Schaefer. I did not know who she was but the description of the book was good so I requested an advanced copy to read and review (thank you Net Galley and Gallery Books). This is a quick read, wasn’t one sitting but finished in a half day. The book is dual timeline and describes both her one-week trip rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with her sister as well as alternating flashback chapters that describe her childhood and family life. Sara is a professional comedian and there are a couple parts that are really, really funny but that isn’t the overall tone of the book – she also is introspective and serious and sometimes it’s even sad. I appreciated the way Sara describes her faith, growing up going to church and making a decision to follow Jesus though describes her beliefs later as something less certain. Sara’s writing felt authentic – like a real person who is working to make a living, spend time with family, and maybe still searching for true meaning.

One of my favorite books I’ve read this year. Well written, funny, deeply personal and relatable all at the same time. Really enjoyed it.

I loved the tone of this book and the interspersing of the grand canyon rafting trip with past events in Sara’s life. In general, I like to read memoirs and I found this to be an outstanding example of the genre. Sara was open and honest about her life events and told at least one story the put her in a very vulnerable place. However, she did this while engaging with the reader and making me feel that she was someone who could be a good friend if our paths were ever to cross. The book also made me eager to see her in her stand up mode.

I had never heard of Schaefer previous to this book, and I don't know that I've ever heard her comedy. Though anything is possible. However, after Grand, she now has one more fan. in Grand, she really opens up and is vulnerable about her past. Her mistakes and choices, and the things that lead to where she is today. At times the book is warm, funny, and heartbreaking, all at once


Grand publishes 8.11.2020.


4/5 Stars