American Goulash: A Book Review

September 3, 2015 newjerseyisntboring

I recently finished a great and inspiring book that just so happens to take place in New Jersey! American Goulash, by Stephanie Yuhas, is a memoir about persevering through a dysfunctional family. It’s interesting, funny, heart warming and you’ll find yourself wanting to be friends with Yuhas by the end of it.

I met Stephanie through Project Twenty1, a 21-Day Filmmaking competition I participate in. She is a social media superstar who is fantastic at promoting other artists. When I found out she wrote a book, I bought it immediately, and started to read it immediately on the beach:

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Synopsis: American Goulash is a story about a nerd girl jousting with her Transylvanian family on the battlefields of suburban New Jersey for a chance to grow up authentically awkward and live a so- called normal American life. Whether casting off old-world wives’ tales or turning to art to cope with her immigrant family’s general zaniness, Stephanie valiantly finds her own way through adolescence in this heartwarming, hilarious soon-to-be classic.

The memoir focuses on Yuhas’s life growing up in Piscataway with her immigrant family. Her home life is interesting to say the least. Stephanie is filled with old wives tales from her mother and grandmother, making it difficult to grow up and fit into a normal American life in New Jersey. Through television and making friends at school, nerd pop culture nurtures her and makes her the person she is today. Rather than feel negative about her experiences, she reflects on them with life lessons and humor.

For anyone whoever thought they were a “freak” or doesn’t think that they can grow beyond the circumstances they are given, “American Goulash” gives you hope. It’s an uplifting book that teaches you that you can find the humor in the dysfunctional, and strengthens the cliche that what ever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. The stories in this book made her the person she is today, and considering how successful she is now you will also be moved.

Bonus! If you’re from NJ, specifically Middlesex County, you will appreciate references to locations listed in the book.

About the Author:
Award-winning Stephanie Yuhas is a writer, producer, and professional goofball, with a BFA in animation from The University of the Arts. She lives near Philadelphia, where she and partner, Matt Conant, run Cinevore Studios. Stephanie also the founder of Project Twenty1, a non-profit organization that runs the 21-Day Filmmaking Competition and Philadelphia Film & Animation Festival.