The most traumatizing and sensitive topics are the most important to joke about, argues Hillsdale alumna Kat Timpf ’10 in her new book. 

Released on April 18, “You Can’t Joke About That: Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We’re All in This Together,” is this week’s No. 1 Amazon bestseller in nonfiction.

Timpf, whose mother, grandmother, and family dog died within months of each other, was dumped by her college boyfriend over text, and nearly died from a perforated bowel, says humor enabled her to cope with a series of challenges she faced early in her career.

“I was waiting tables, I was super broke, I was living in squalor, and also I was performing stand-up comedy. I had only done it like twice before when I was in college, but I really felt like talking about my dumpster fire life on stage,” Timpf told the Collegian. “It gave me power over the things that were making me feel so powerless, and it became one of my only means of connection during the loneliest times in my life.” 

Timpf, who is a comedian, columnist, and co-host on Fox News’ “Gutfeld!,” said social pressure not to joke about sensitive topics made her feel isolated. 

“When my mom died, it was such a tragic, sad thing,” Timpf said. “But it was only made worse by the fact that I could tell everybody that was around me and talking to me after my mom died was so afraid to say the wrong thing that I felt like they couldn’t have a real conversation with me.” 

In her book, Timpf, who is a self-described libertarian and free-speech absolutist, explores cultural attitudes toward grief and comedy – and what is considered acceptable to joke about. Her book details countless personal and popular culture instances – from her own experience receiving death threats for a joke about Star Wars, to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. 

“We’re emotional creatures, and it’s a good thing to express yourself and share your feelings,” Timpf said. “Where it becomes not about sensitivity anymore is when you expect the world to revolve around those feelings, which is what a lot of this stuff is really about.” 

Timpf said there’s a misconception that people who are overly concerned about speech regulations are sensitive, when in reality, they tend to be oppressive. 

“A lot of the rules that our culture has put in place for speech, they’re supposed to be there to protect people who are going through tough things, but I think the opposite is true,” Timpf said. “I think that it prevents people from really being able to communicate honestly and with comedy and ultimately keeps us from being able to make connections with one another.” 

Timpf said she got the idea for the book after her emergency bowel surgery in 2020, when her dad told her, “You’re only 32, but what have you not been through?” 

Timpf said she realized the things she has been through helped her build connections with others who had been through similar situations, but it didn’t matter if she couldn’t laugh and talk about it.

The feedback Timpf  has received so far has been “amazing,” she said, and she has heard from people across the country who have also used humor to cope and heal. 

“I think that it’s a little different of a book than people can expect because I hit all sides. I really do mean everything can be joked about, I really do mean nothing is sacred,” Timpf said. “I wrote this because it’s something I’m super passionate about and I feel like if our discourse would change surrounding the way we talk about these things that we would all be better off.” 

Professor of History Brad Birzer, who taught Timpf while she was at Hillsdale, said though he hasn’t yet read the book, he agrees humor is an essential part of political and cultural discourse. 

“Kat’s humor comes out of an older tradition of satire — so famous in the 1970s because of Saturday Night Live, etc,” Birzer said. “And, I’m sure that being canceled is a serious threat for all kinds of comedians at whatever level.” 

Birzer said he is proud of Timpf’s career. 

“Her path to success is as unique as she is,” Birzer said. 

Maria Servold, assistant director of the Dow Journalism Program and former roommate of Timpf’s, said the book is true to her personality —witty, irreverent, and smart.

“Kat and I lived together for a summer in D.C. when we were students and I told everyone it felt like living with my own personal comedian,” Servold said. “I am not at all surprised that she has been able to handle so many difficulties with humor, and I think it’s important we all learn from her example in that regard.”