Jen Stefanski
Originally, I started this book to hang out with my dad. I’d play his classic rock and listen as his voice would come in over the beat to tell me “what’s what.” It was a selfish and comforting project and one I thought (hoped?) my family might enjoy one day. I chose writing instead of grief therapy, and I think my writing group was onto me there. I also wanted to see if I could bring Bud back into the physical world in any shape or form, even if that shape were a paperback, something I could hold in my hands (maybe read on the toilet?).
Jen Stefanski
Jen Stefanski's Work
A Light Roast is an inescapably honest look at grief, a life lived, and the darkly humorous ways we continue laughing with the dead.
After the sudden death of her father, Jen continues in conversation with him–because where else is he except in her head? Living with the soundtrack of a vulgar, whip-smart, scotch-loving bear of a baby boomer in your brain is exhausting, but it sure beats the nothingness of death. Jen talks at her dad while his ashes sit–waiting and listening–a captive man in a can. As for Bud? He talks back, continuing to “roast” his daughter and trying to control from the beyond. Bud dishes out advice on what shapes our messy existence: from good tunes to cars, from lotto tickets to the decision to have kids (“Trust me, don’t,” this father cautioned his own offspring.)
Together, they wax lyrical about the best cover songs, air dirty family laundry, and sort out that every day shouldn’t be just a series of forced marches. With endearing irreverence, they bring back Bud-isms: “The sun shines on every dog's ass, eventually.” Come for the unlicensed grief-therapy, and stay for the profanity.
A Light Roast reveals that to live with grief, we shouldn’t make angels out of the dead. Instead, we need to keep the roast going.
Critical Acclaim
"A real piece of shit. Keep your money"
Bud Stefanki, co-creator of Jen Stefanski