No Cure for Cancer: A Monologue

By Denis Leary

No Cure for Cancer is an uproarious and lacerating meditation on life—and death—by a celebrated new voice on the performance scene. Based on writer-performer Denis Leary's hit Off-Broadway show, this rapid-fire monologue sends up society and its ills—disease, drugs, crime, junk culture, the recovery movement, pious political correctness, urban life, and above all, our fear of mortality—with wicked satire and insight.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Release date: Jun 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781101970645

Denis Leary

Denis Leary has appeared in more than thirty films, including the Oscar-nominated Wag the Dog, The Thomas Crowne Affair, and Ice Age, as well as the Christmas cult classic The Ref, and such indie favorites as Jesus’ Son and Suicide Kings. Leary was the co-creator, producer, and star of the critically acclaimed network comedy The Job. His one-man shows No Cure For Cancer and Lock ’n Load broke viewing records on HBO. Leary has also written for New York Magazine, GQ, Playboy, Esquire, and many other publications. He is the co-writer, creator, and star of the four-time Emmy and Golden Globe–nominated television series Rescue Me. He lives in Connecticut.

Book preview

(Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life plays in house. The stage is dark. As the song fades out, the loud jangling chords of another song take over. The stage slowly comes to light, revealing deep velvet drapes, three large wooden boxes and several black plastic ashtrays. A pack of Marlboro Regulars sits atop each box. An open bottle of Budweiser beer stands on a black stool center stage. A short, dark man enters playing the guitar. Another man—tall, blond, thin—enters, lights a cigarette and begins to speak over the music.)

Folks, I’d like to sing a song about the American dream. About me. About you. About the way our American hearts beat way down in the bottom of our chests. About the special feeling we get in the cockles of our hearts—maybe below the cockles—maybe in the sub-cockle area. Maybe in the liver. Maybe in the kidneys. Maybe even in the

Reviews for No Cure for Cancer

[pool_boy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fun and funny read, though it's been years since I picked it up.

[wenestvedt_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this. Sure, it'd sink without a trace now, but it was well-timed for success then, and I think it's held up reasonably well. Still makes me laugh (though the song part could be dropped with little loss).