Comedian Gary Gulman on Taking His Act From the Stage to the Page

Comedian Gary Gulman 's memoir, Misfit: Growing Up Awkward in the ’80s , is out now.

The book chronicles the years he spent with his financially strapped single mother.

Gulman says he was more comfortable telling these stories in book form because he gets very anxious onstage when he goes too long without a laugh.

The Great Depresh was a gift to me on so many levels, and it was such a blessing to me.

Garry Shandling was a great meet-your-heroes moment when he was a guest at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach .

He says he admired the counterpuncher Bugs Bunny , who was always reacting to someone messing with him.

The audience has been generous with me in terms of allowing me to talk about things that in some cases were actually very heavy and disturbing.

I knew going into writing this book it would be an accomplishment to finish it and write it in a way I was pleased by. If it didn't sell well or wasn’t embraced, I could live. I would have a couple of days of licking my wounds.