If Erma Bombeck were alive today, what on earth would she say about the current state of world?
In Dear Erma Bombeck in Heaven — What the Hell?! (Flint Hills Publishing), Jillian Van Hefty dares to imagine the answer. Van Hefty developed much of the manuscript at the University of Dayton Marriott, where she lived in the hotel for two weeks as a grand prize winner of the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop’s Humorist-in-Residence contest.
Written as a series of hilarious, irreverent letters to the patron saint of domestic comedy, this book reports back from a world that seems to have lost its car keys —and its common sense. With razor-sharp wit and genuine affection, Van Hefty tackles aging, trendy diets, designer dogs and the cultural chaos of modern life, channeling the spirit of the woman who taught America how to laugh at itself.
But beneath the satire lies something deeper: a longing for perspective, for sanity and for the kind of humor that doesn't punch down — it lifts us up. Like Bombeck at her best, Van Hefty holds up a mirror to our excesses and insecurities, then hands us the grace to laugh at what we see.
“This book is so funny, sharp, and sweet, I’m angry I didn’t write it myself,” says Mike Reiss, Emmy-winning writer, producer and show runner of The Simpsons.
Matthew Bombeck, Erma’s son, also gives the book high praise: “Often times I wonder what my mom would have written about if she were still alive today. Jillian Van Hefty’s book, Dear Erma Bombeck in Heaven — What the Hell?!, answered that question. Observant and wickedly funny, she takes on aging, plastic surgery, trendy diets and trendy parents. Anyone can hold a mirror up and show us who we are, but not many have the gift to make us laugh at it.”
Van Hefty is an award-winning humor writer and essayist whose work has appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul; Sisters! Bonded by Love and Laughter; and many other publications. She lives in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in Northwest Arkansas with her husband, two very funny teenage sons and an emotional support Keurig.