Viv Groskop

One day, Viv Groskop realised that she wasn’t the person who she wanted to be. Surrounded by reminders of middle age and recession, she decided to do the unthinkable: become a stand-up comedian by performing 100 stand-up gigs in 100 nights.

Not letting her lack of experience or impending 40^th birthday get in the way, Viv battled with the bemused masses in venues across the UK, all the while trying to keep her regular job – and regular life – from going haywire. But among the hecklers and the haters, Viv discovered that scaring yourself once in a while isn’t so bad. Life, it seems, definitely does not end at 40.

The Artistic Director of the Bath Literature Festival, Viv Groskop will be relaying the trials of being a middle-aged journalist-turned-comedian. I Laughed, I Cried is an hilarious and poignant book about the tribulations of mid-life, and asks if women really can change their path in life and still have it all.