The Awkward Phase

a story of triumph

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The Nerd Herd

Kathleen Fitzgerald’s story from The Awkward Phase in illustrated form!

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See you tonight, dear friends!

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We are thrilled to be on our awesome contributor Helene’s blog today!

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The Awkward Phase is featured on The Daily Tay today!

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We love seeing pictures of folk’s copies of The Awkward Phase! Keep ‘em coming!!!

xoxox

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Feeling nostalgic over at The Awkward Phase HQ today. Sharing one of our original photos of co-author Claire Linic as a picnic table.

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Awkward Phase Book + Launch Party

Almost three years to the day since we started The Awkward Phase, and the IRL book will be here Feb. 2nd (via Skyhorse Publishing)!!! It’s a collection of our fav Awkward Tumblr stories + new stuff from across the country. You can pre-order now at Amazon. 

Also, also, also, we’re having a post-Valentine’s Day book launch and story-telling show in Chicago at The Annoyance Theatre [851 W. Belmont Avenue] on Feb. 15th at 7:30PM. We’ll have plenty of hilarious performers, tears, and balloons -- lots and lots of balloons. We’ll also be doing a talk-back, Q&A afterward about our Tumblr journey.

Book contributors (+ links to their Tumblrs) include:  Gaby Dunn, Wes Perry,  Suzy X (The MallGoth Chronicles), Irene Marquette, Dawn Luebbe (whose My 1992 Diary we spotted on the Tumblr 2015 Year in Review) + MANY more. 

We <3 you all soooo much & hope to see you soon. 

xoxo Tyler & Claire

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The Awkward Phase: The Uplifting Tales of Those Weird Kids You Went to School With [Tyler Gillespie, Claire Linic] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Based on the popular Tumblr, a collection of funny stories that commemorate the awkward phases in our lives.Back in the 1990s

Our pre order is up and rolling!

This book is so near to our hearts.  We hope it will be near to yours. 

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The cover is HERE!

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Craft Queen. Life Queen.

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Weird Friends ALL DAY!

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We Vote For Lisa!

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I Wanted to Be Pretty

I wanted to be pretty I wanted to be thin To wear the little costumes My other friends fit in They wore the frilly dresses for picture day at school And showed their little bellies at day camp in the pool Their bodies were not something they ever thought about Their mother never whispered "suck it in" when their tummy would pop out I wanted to be pretty I wanted to be small But I was told to stand in the back Because I was too tall I'd get tangled in the jump rope, stuck on the big kid slide While the boys were playing with the girls I never got a piggy back ride In tag id run too slow so I always would be "it" I was told that I could "suck it up" if I got slapped or hit I wanted to be pretty I wanted to be hot But mother made me cover up no matter how hard I fought "A princess! Oh how cute!" Mr. Leonard said to Lindsay when we yelled "trick or treat!" He barely even glanced at me, cat woman obsolete I still want to be pretty, I still want to be small To be delicate, to be dainty - yes I want it all And sometimes when I'm all alone, alone in my own skin I wear a sexy outfit and refuse to suck it in I feel so God damn tiny, I smile and close my eyes I forget about the looks, the shame, I forget about my size I wear it like a costume and when it comes to an end It cover it back up because it was just pretend

-Amber Linde

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[included in our forthcoming book The Awkward Phase: The Uplifting Tales of Those Weird Kids You Went to School With]

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I am the young lad on the left thinking to myself-  "That older girl must think I am pretty cool to ask me to do this for her", while my older cousin –the one on the right- is thinking “I can’t believe they talked me into this”.  Yes it is true I spent my awkward phase in a state of peaceful oblivion. This photo was just the tip of the awkward iceberg.

- I thought I must be very special when I was the only boy in the band that got to play his sister’s hand me down clarinet.

- I thought I must be some dancer when they asked me to sing softer in swing choir and concentrate on my dance moves.

- I thought it was very perceptive of the band teacher when he asked me to video tape the band instead of actually being on the field during marching competition.

Looking back on it,  this peaceful oblivion had its advantages. It taught me to play to my strengths and not worry about what I was not doing. And by the way, being the only boy in the Clarinet section in the 11th grade was not near as bad as it was in 6th grade. However, as I am typing this I am thinking back to a conversation at work last week when my boss said – David we really like your input on this team but there is a new team that really needs you instead….

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It’s been a MINUTE since we’ve check in w you and for that we are forever sorry. BUT BUT BUT it’s because we’ve been tightening our braces in preparation for our BOOK The Awkward Phase: The Uplifting Tales of Those Weird Kids You Went to School With out early 2016 from Skyhorse Publishing.

We started this Tumblr nearly three years ago, and since then we have laughed/cried (the good kind)/met internet friends/got our life to this project. We can’t wait for y’all to see the book, which features posts from the blog and a bunch of NEW awkward stories of TRIIIIIIIIUMPH. I’m literally tearing up right now.

In the next few days/weeks/months, we’ll be updating more and more – we’ll post some posts from the book, new stuff y’all have sent (and PLZ keep sending, it warms our <3′s) and some SURPRISES.

xoxoxoxox