Happy July, doll faces! It was recently shared in the review of My Lovely Wife that I started listening to an insanely entertaining true crime podcast called My Favorite Murder, hosted by Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff. How fortuitous that right when I get really sucked in, they immediately come out with a joint memoir (I think it was meant to be)!
Before I review their new book, Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered, I wanted to give a little background about how I found these two bad ass chicks and why I dig what they bring to the table.
This was a discovery I stumbled upon purely be chance (as all the best discoveries are). I was aimlessly scrolling through Instagram (getting my daily fix of food porn, puppies, and everything book related) when I stopped at a picture of an Instagram model wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words “stay sexy and don’t get murdered.” Of course I was immediately intrigued and googled the origin of this quote. Low and behold, it brought me to the website of the podcast, My Favorite Murder.
Now, to be fair, I have a very sketchy history with trying out podcasts. As a rule, I hate them. I’ve tried podcasts about beauty regimens, exercise and yes, even BOOKS, and I hated all of them. Maybe I’m a snob, maybe my attention span just shorts out when it comes to people droning on about these topics. Whatever it was, they couldn’t hold my attention and I’d inevitably kick them to the curb.
Despite this, I thought, “What the hell? I freaking love the Investigation Discovery channel and live for 48 Hours reruns. Why not just try it out?” And ya know what? I’m converted. My regular circulation of audiobooks has been put (momentarily) on hold by these two brilliant ladies and their ability to bring a lot of incite into a socially taboo topic and some dark humor into the realm of pretty horrifying crimes. When trying to explain the premise of this podcast to people, I unavoidably feel like a creep. But it’s something you have to experience first hand in order to understand. No amount of sussing it out will give a fully accurate picture.
Anywhooo, onto their new book and why you should check it out!
So really, this book is like an inside joke for all of the “Murderinos” that are familiar with My Favorite Murder lingo and backstories (ex: Murderino is a term that originated through MFM, referring to someone obsessed with true crime and avoiding being murdered). Each section of the book is dubbed with a quote of something hilarious the ladies have said while recording, which has become part of MFM lore.
Yeah, a band of closeted cold case aficionados.
Karen and Georgia are smart, witty, and are awesome about being transparent if they get something wrong when sharing a true crime story. They’ll correct themselves the next time around and laugh at the mistake. It adds to the charm and humanity they bring to the table. You get the feeling of sitting down and chatting with a friend, sans judgement and BS. They are really open about their own personal struggles, what has drawn them individually to true crime, and how this podcast has done so many amazing things and opened so many doors for themselves and the MFM community as a whole.
Because this is a memoir, they go in-depth about their lives growing up, the fight to feel relevant in the LA scene, their various struggles with drinking, drugs, and eating disorders, and how putting it all out there and taking a chance on an opportunity can pay in spades. They hammer in the importance of self-love and compassion for others, which is a large part of the fascination with true crime.
In order to be interested in true crime, you have to have a level of empathy for others and a healthy fear of the fact that anyone can fall victim to a violent act. People aren’t “asking for it” and certainly no one “deserves” to be murdered in cold blood. MFM pays homage to the victims and brings a heightened awareness to those who are still seeking justice. Strides have been made in cases because of “couch” detectives, and there’s something to be said about that.
My favorite section, however, was from Georgia (who I swear is me with a thick layer of anxiety added on). In it, she talks about books really saving her as a kid. She had an English teacher who gave her a copy of Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles right after she got out of rehab at fourteen years old. Because of this book, Georgia felt enlightened by the world Bradbury created in his novel and it opened her eyes to the freedom books give, even in the hardest, saddest, most depressing times.
There’s a quote Georgia uses of Ray Bradbury’s from Farewell Summer that hit me right in the soul: “All you had to do was pull a book from a shelf and open it and suddenly the darkness was not so dark anymore.” Such a simple quote, but this part of her story (which has a tongue-in-cheek title: Georgia Gets Her Nipple Pierced for All the Right Reasons) actually made me pretty emotional. I reflected on how important books are to me in my life, but also on how much of an impact the right book at the right time can help a child in need of some light in the darkness too.
Also, on a more light-hearted note, Georgia’s the proud owner of the cutest Siamese cat I’ve ever seen (I WANT ONE NOW) named Elvis. He’s cross-eyed and perfect and they sign-off every show by asking, “Elvis, want a cookie?” And he answers with the cutest hybrid meow/goat bleat you’ve ever heard! So freakin’ adorable. How could you not be into this?
Maybe this is a niche read, but I found it inspiring. It’s amazing how the bumpiest of paths can lead somewhere good and a memoir like this is both fun and full of hope. Karen and Georgia’s stories are perfect examples of the amazingly wonderful things that can happen, even if you had a rough start. So if you’re going through a tough time and are seeking the horizon for a silver lining, this is a good reminder that it’s there. Keep going.
Side Question: If you’re a podcast lover, what’s one that’s caught your attention recently? Asking for a friend.
Happy & healthy reading!
Lexi
