Memoir, Mental Illness, and Comedy: Excavating the Mother in Maria. In February 2025, I had the chance to have a powerful conversation with Maria Bamford about her brilliant memoir, Sure I’ll Join Your Cult . In the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, this interview feels like a bittersweet postscript to an era. After meeting through the vibrant community in Altadena we had the pleasure of orbiting each other for a while. We discuss our mothers, our favorite authors tackling nuance