This Might Get a Little Heavy

There was a time when Ralphie May was one of the biggest standup comedians in the country, both by ticket sales and by tonnage. While some things have changed—Ralphie lost half his body weight—others have not: he’s still one of the most successful comics working today. In This Might Get a Little Heavy, Ralphie takes readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of his life and career that winds both across the country and through the golden age of stand-up.

Raised in poor, rural, Arkansas by a single mom who struggled to make ends meet, Ralphie’s early years were the perfect breeding ground for the kind of pain and stress and adversity that only comedy can cure. Bitten by the comedy bug at a Methodist sleep-away camp when he was 12 years old, Ralphie seized a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity six years later at an open-mic in a pizza parlor. Mentored and inspired by legendary comedian Sam Kinison to move to Houston, where he got his start, Ralphie packed his bags and never looked back. A major headliner for over twenty-five years (and counting), in This Might Get A Little Heavy, Ralphie finally tells the world how a chubby poor kid from Clarksville went from Arkansas to Houston to Hollywood and beyond. Full of never before told stories from Ralphie’s life, This Might Get A Little Heavy will bust your gut, pull at your heart strings, and touch your soul.

RALPHIEMAY was a stand-up comedian who burst into America’s living rooms when hefinished runner-up in the first season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing. Sincethen, he had five specials on Comedy Central and two with Netflix. He touredextensively, doing more than 250 shows per year, and signed on for a Las Vegasresidency at Harrah’s in 2017, for which he won Casino Comedian of the Year.Ralphie passed away suddenly in October 2017.

NILSPARKER is a writer and editor of multiple New York Times bestsellers. He splitshis time between Milwaukee and Los Angeles with his wife and two dogs.