Greg Schwem "Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines" - Bonus Show #113

Greg Schwem, a former standup comic turned public speaker and writer, offers a unique perspective on the significance of humor in navigating life's tragedies. With his journalism background from Northwestern University, Schwem authored "Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines: A Comedian's Journey Through Cancer, Divorce, and Other Hilarious Stuff," a book that delves into the therapeutic power of laughter amidst adversity. He believes that even in situations like divorce and cancer, humor plays a crucial role in personal growth and provides a lighter perspective on darker subjects. By sharing his own experiences, Schwem highlights the role of comedians in finding joy where it's least expected, illustrating that humor can be a powerful tool for resilience and connection.

(00:01:27) Finding Humor in Life's Struggles

(00:02:32) Turning Hardships into Humorous Punchlines

(00:07:32) "Turning Adversity into Laughter: Finding Humor"

More info: www.GregSchwem.com

Transcript

Announcer: 0:04

This is another episode of Standup Comedy. Your host and emcee celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business. Stories, interviews and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and emcee, Scott Edwards, ladies and gentlemen.

R. Scott Edwards: 0:23

Welcome back to the podcast, man. I have some special stuff for this bonus show. There's a comic out there. He's been a standup comic for a couple decades. Then he went in, he pivoted, became a public speaker, and is offering all kinds of great humor and services to the business industry. But guess what? Now he's a world famous author. We're so excited to have him on the show. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Greg Schwam. It's incredible, Greg. I don't know how you do it. You take all your talents, all your humor, and now you can write too.

Greg Schwem: 1:01

I can write. I know. Well, okay, I'm exercising my, my journalism degree from Northwestern University, which was a very long time ago. I won't tell you how long ago. I will just tell you that I'm, I'm two weeks out from a major reunion that I'm going to. Okay, well, it's got a zero on the end. It doesn't have a five in front of it, but just keep going back just a little bit, you'll figure it out.

R. Scott Edwards: 1:27

Well, it's so exciting because not only have you been a successful standup comic and public speaker, but you've been through some tough times. I know you've, you've had a bout with cancer, you went through a divorce. Some of the other challenges of being an independent contractor, which is what all standup comics are, and you turn it into a positive. At least you're sharing it that way through your new book, Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines. That's Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines. Ladies and gentlemen, a brand new book out by Greg Schwem. If you get a chance, pick it up on Amazon or wherever books are sold. But Greg, tell us a little bit about this adventure into writing.

Greg Schwem: 2:09

Yeah, you know, the main title says it all. I mean, it kind of tells you what I have been dealing with in the past two years or so. These, these two things happen simultaneously. The subtitle of the book is so it's Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines. The subtitle is A Comedian's Journey Through Cancer, Divorce and Other Hilarious Stuff. And that's what.

R. Scott Edwards: 2:30

Nothing more hilarious than divorce and cancer.

Greg Schwem: 2:32

Yeah, exactly. That's what I want people to be intrigued by. I want them to know when they see it that this is not one of these woe is me know self serving books. I just had, you know, let's read about what I went through type of thing. I want people to see that there is humor in things that aren't necessarily funny. I mean, comedians, you and I both know comedians, we want to talk about things that are funny. We don't talk as much about darker subjects because we think, well, we don't want the audience to think, well, what's funny about that? And I wanted to show my audience, in this case via the written word, but now it's some of the things I wrote down are creeping into my standup act, that you can laugh at life's issues because everybody has them, including comedians. I think I have found that people, sometimes they look at comedians and they think that we're just put on earth to be funny 247 and entertain other people. And it's not the case. We have our issues too, but we look at things and you know as well as I do what sets comedians apart is we look at things in a slightly different way. And when we can, we try to find the humor in there. So I was going through a reinvention. I have a clean bill of health, which is huge and.

R. Scott Edwards: 3:55

Hold on, hold on. Clean bill of health. That's great news.

Greg Schwem: 4:01

Thank you. Yes, it is. I still get somewhat emotional talking about it, but you know, divorce, a late in life divorce, gray divorce is really the term that's being used now.

R. Scott Edwards: 4:12

Well, I just to interrupt you, Greg, I just think. Yeah, first off, comics do. Our role is to comment on life in the world and find the funny. And you're absolutely correct. You don't normally go to. Well, a lot of them go to divorce. Cancer is a little bit touchier subject. You know, there's some things we just never joke about, like the Kennedy assassination or something. But generally both cancer and divorce is a very common, way too common experience for human beings these days. And for you as a author and standup comic, to help people find the funny, or at least a positive aspect of what you can come out of surviving those kind of challenges, which is what you will do, especially with the inspiration of a book like this. Now, the fact that you were dealing with cancer and a divorce at the same time is kind of a double whammy. That had to be challenging.

Greg Schwem: 5:15

Very much so. But it almost was like, okay, now I've got two different topics that I can look at in a different light and in a, in a humorous light. And you know, a lot of this stuff Just kind of when you, when you're on a journey of reinvention, a lot of the material kind of writes itself. It just presents itself in front of you because you're constantly faced with new challenges, new ways of doing things, you know, you. Okay, so I'm divorced, but I would still like companionship. So I'm going to try to find somebody to date. But how do we date these days? We do it all by our phone. And I've never done this before. So now I'm going to have to put my foot into that pond of online dating and. Exactly. And, you know, there's where the joke's just going to write themselves. I, you know, I went to therapy. I never, ever have gone to therapy before. And now, you know, I don't mind admitting it because it seems like everybody's in therapy, but this was something completely new for me. And what I found about the title of that chapter is I Don't Need a Good Therapist, Just an Available Therapist. And that's what it came down to. I mean, it's like, you can't be junior, but they're all completely booked.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:28

Yeah. It doesn't matter how good they are if you can't talk to them.

Announcer: 6:32

Right.

Greg Schwem: 6:32

And you start thinking like, oh, you have availability. What's wrong with you? You must not be that good at it.

R. Scott Edwards: 6:39

Wait a minute. You answered my call. Greg, do us a favor. Tell my audience that are human beings. My audience is composed of human beings, and they all have issues in their lives. I'm sure some are dealing with cancer or somebody in their family. 100% somebody in their family or themselves have dealt with cancer, and I would guess at least 40, 50% have dealt with divorce. And just using round numbers, would you please tell everybody a little bit, you know, restate the title of the book where they can find it. This probably makes a good gift for people for the holidays that have somebody in their family dealing with tough issues. It's so important to find the funny in life's tragedies. And this book will help you. Greg, tell us a little bit more about where they can find it.

Greg Schwem: 7:32

Right, so the book is called Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines. You can search that. You don't have to search the whole title, but Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines, of course, you can find it on Amazon. You can also, if you reach out to me via my website@gregschwem.com and send me a message, I'd be more than happy to send you a signed copy with maybe an inspirational message forever. You're gifting the book to. And Scott, you were correct. I mean, the holidays are coming up. They're not necessarily joyous for anybody, particularly if you do get some bad news or some life altering news. And if I can help people get through those holidays and maybe put a smile on their face, then that alone is worth writing.

R. Scott Edwards: 8:13

Book well, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here. Greg Schwem with Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines is available on Amazon, but I like the idea of the more personal touch. Go to gregschwem.com that's G R E G S C h w e m.com and get a personalized copy and help yourself or help somebody you care about in your family that might be dealing with life's challenges. With Greg's help in this book, you might find the funny and help them get through it. Greg, thanks so much for sharing this information with my audience. It's also important that we balance the fun and humor in life with the stuff that's tough to get through and things like this really help.

Greg Schwem: 8:57

Well, thank you Scott and happy holidays to you and your listeners.

R. Scott Edwards: 9:00

Ladies and gentlemen. That's been our bonus show this week. Be sure to check out Greg's book, Turning Gut Punches into Punchlines. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back with our regular full podcast show this Sunday. Happy holidays, as Greg said, and we'll see you soon. Bye.

Announcer: 9:17

We hope you enjoyed this episode of Standup Comedy, your host and emcee. For information on the show merchandise and our sponsors, or to send comments to Scott, visit our website at www.standupyourhost and mc.com. look for more episodes soon and enjoy the world of Standup Comedy. Visit a comedy showroom near.