Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt Summary, Characters and Themes
Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt is a slow-burn, friends-to-lovers romance set against the raw and chaotic backdrop of stand-up comedy.
It follows Farley Jones, a whip-smart, awkwardly charming comedian, and Meyer Harrigan, her steady, brooding manager and best friend. What starts as a staged PR stunt—a fake relationship to boost Farley’s visibility—slowly unravels into something much deeper. With heartfelt vulnerability, rich emotional tension, and genuine laugh-out-loud moments, DeWitt’s novel explores the courage it takes to be seen, both onstage and in love. It’s about healing, trust, and learning to stop performing when it matters most.
Summary
Farley Jones is an up-and-coming comedian known for her unfiltered humor, self-deprecating wit, and occasional onstage chaos. She’s brash, bold, and brilliant—and secretly terrified of being vulnerable.
Her manager and best friend, Meyer Harrigan, is the opposite: calm, steady, emotionally reserved. Once a stand-up comic himself, Meyer walked away from the spotlight to raise his Deaf daughter, Hazel, after a messy breakup.
For the past three years, he’s been Farley’s rock—professionally and personally—but they’ve kept things strictly platonic.
When Farley is offered a high-profile opening slot on a major female-led comedy tour, the press wants a “hook” to make her stand out. Kara Wu, the headliner, and her savvy manager suggest a fake relationship between Farley and Meyer.
The publicity stunt would create buzz and soften Farley’s edgy image—but both she and Meyer are wary. Still, they agree, setting strict boundaries for what’s real and what’s pretend. Unsurprisingly, those lines don’t stay clean for long.
As they begin “dating” in public—posing for photos, attending events, and playing up the romance for social media—Farley is forced to examine the feelings she’s kept hidden. Being close to Meyer isn’t new, but pretending to be in love with him when she already is blurs her emotional reality.
Meyer, meanwhile, fights his growing affection, convinced that acting on it would risk Hazel’s stability and Farley’s career. The tension builds slowly but steadily, infused with longing, awkward tension, and brief sparks of undeniable chemistry.
Flashbacks show how they met—Farley crashing Hazel’s disastrous birthday party and instantly winning over both father and daughter with her humor and kindness. Over time, she became an unofficial part of their family, and it’s clear that the bond was never just professional.
Still, Meyer keeps his feelings buried, haunted by past heartbreak and the weight of single fatherhood.
The tipping point comes when a media photoshoot forces them into a near-kiss that leaves them shaken. Then, during a trip for a tour preview event, a real kiss finally happens—passionate and impossible to ignore. But Meyer pulls away the next day, overwhelmed by guilt and fear.
Farley, hurt and confused, throws herself into her work, unsure whether she’s been used for PR or if she just made a terrible mistake.
As tour preparations ramp up, Farley decides to create emotional distance and moves out of Meyer’s house.
She needs clarity, and space. Meyer is devastated but says nothing—until Hazel, perceptive and wise beyond her years, asks him why he’s letting Farley go. That question hits hard.
He writes Farley a letter confessing everything: his fears, his love, and his desire to be with her, not just perform with her.
Farley receives the letter on the day of her tour’s first performance. She reads it silently, but the words echo through her final set, where she ends with a heartfelt joke that doubles as a love confession. Afterward, Meyer and Hazel meet her backstage. This time, there’s no hesitation.
Meyer kisses her in front of everyone—not for the cameras, but because they’re done pretending.
The final chapters show the couple settling into a new rhythm—still navigating their careers, still raising Hazel together, but now as real partners in life and love. Their chemistry remains, but now it’s grounded in honesty and choice. In the epilogue, the trio steps onto a red carpet, united and beaming.
Farley’s comedy star is on the rise, and Meyer has found peace in letting himself be seen. Together, they’ve built a life where love isn’t a performance—it’s the punchline.
Characters
Farley Jones
Farley Jones is a dynamic and deeply layered character, central to the story’s emotional and comedic tension. As a stand-up comedian, Farley is portrayed as bold, self-deprecating, and witty, with a knack for using humor to navigate the complexities of her life.
Her journey is marked by a constant balance between vulnerability and humor, often using her sharp comedic talents to mask her insecurities and fears. Farley’s relationships, particularly with Meyer, are pivotal to her character development.
While her comedic exterior often masks a deeper sensitivity, Farley grapples with the ambiguity of her feelings for Meyer, which evolve from friendship to something more intense. Her emotional growth throughout the book reflects her ability to confront her own vulnerability, both in her career and personal life.
Farley’s struggle to reconcile her professional identity with her personal desires is central to her character arc. By the end of the book, she finds a balance between love and her career, realizing that true growth requires both emotional and professional honesty.
Meyer Harrigan
Meyer Harrigan is a complex character, driven by a deep sense of responsibility and protective love, especially for his daughter Hazel. Initially introduced as a reserved and supportive figure, Meyer’s character grows as the narrative progresses.
His history as a former stand-up comedian turned screenwriter adds an interesting layer to his personality, showing that he understands the intricacies of comedy and the industry from both a performer’s and creator’s perspective. Meyer’s relationship with Farley is both professional and deeply personal, with unspoken romantic feelings simmering beneath the surface.
He struggles with his emotions for Farley, fearing that crossing the line from friendship to romance could jeopardize his professional life and, more importantly, his relationship with Hazel. Throughout the story, Meyer is portrayed as a man caught between his heart’s desires and his responsibilities.
Meyer’s eventual emotional vulnerability and opening up to Farley is a significant turning point in the story. His development is rooted in learning how to let go of his fears and embrace the possibility of love without sacrificing the family dynamic he holds dear.
Hazel Harrigan
Hazel Harrigan, Meyer’s young daughter, is a key character who subtly influences the dynamics between Meyer and Farley. Despite being a child, Hazel exhibits emotional intelligence far beyond her years, often picking up on the underlying tension between the two adults.
Her role in the story is crucial because she acts as a catalyst for many of the key emotional developments in Meyer and Farley’s relationship. Hazel’s innocence and perceptiveness help Meyer navigate his complex feelings toward Farley, providing him with gentle nudges toward emotional openness.
Hazel’s bond with Farley also evolves throughout the story, with Farley becoming a significant and loving figure in her life. Hazel represents the unspoken bond of family and connection that Meyer and Farley both need to embrace in order to move forward with their own love story.
By the end of the novel, Hazel’s presence in their lives symbolizes the successful merging of their professional and personal worlds. Meyer and Farley find a new rhythm as a family unit.
Kara Wu
Kara Wu, a famous comedian and one of the driving forces behind Farley’s potential career breakthrough, plays an essential role in the story’s exploration of professional relationships and public image. Kara is a strong, ambitious, and influential figure in the comedy world, offering Farley a chance to step into the spotlight.
She acts as both a mentor and a challenger to Farley, providing guidance while also pushing her to confront the realities of the entertainment industry. Kara’s role in proposing the fake relationship between Farley and Meyer introduces a significant moral dilemma for Farley.
The proposition forces Farley to consider the consequences of personal sacrifices for career advancement. While Kara’s character is not as deeply developed as Farley or Meyer’s, her influence is pivotal in pushing the plot forward and highlighting the tension between authenticity and the image required for success in the public eye.
Shauna Cooper
Shauna Cooper, a member of Kara Wu’s team, is another important character who adds depth to the story’s professional and publicity-driven themes. Like Kara, Shauna is involved in the media and entertainment side of Farley’s career, helping to manage the logistics of the comedy tour and the press.
While her role is more peripheral, Shauna serves as a reminder of the pressures and manipulations inherent in the industry, especially for female comedians who often have to play by certain rules to succeed. She represents the business side of comedy, which contrasts with the personal and emotional journeys of the main characters, particularly Farley.
Her involvement in the publicity stunt further complicates Farley’s relationship with authenticity. Shauna’s character is a catalyst for the tension between public perception and personal truth.
Themes
Navigating the Complexities of Public vs. Private Personas in the Entertainment Industry
Funny Feelings is the tension between maintaining a public persona and preserving private emotions in the entertainment world. Throughout the narrative, Farley Jones and Meyer Harrigan’s relationship starts as a public stunt—manufactured for publicity—but gradually the line between performance and reality blurs.
Farley, a stand-up comedian, struggles with the idea of commodifying her personal life to increase her visibility in a male-dominated industry. While she desires recognition for her talent, she resists the manipulation of her private self for the sake of fame.
Meyer, on the other hand, grapples with the conflict of protecting his professional and personal boundaries, especially considering his role as a father and his emerging feelings for Farley. This dynamic illuminates the emotional cost of the entertainment industry’s pervasive public scrutiny, revealing how both characters must negotiate their true selves against a backdrop of media-generated expectations.
The Emotional Toll of Repressing Love in Professional Relationships
Another deep theme in the novel involves the emotional toll that repressing romantic feelings within a professional relationship can exact. From the outset, Farley and Meyer share a close, platonic bond, rooted in mutual respect for one another’s talents and deep emotional connection.
However, as their fake relationship evolves, the line between genuine affection and professional detachment becomes increasingly harder to distinguish. Farley’s growing feelings for Meyer create an internal conflict—should she act on them, or risk damaging their professional dynamic?
Meyer, similarly, must balance his protective instincts as a father with his own evolving feelings for Farley. This emotional tension highlights the difficulty of navigating romantic feelings when professional obligations and family responsibilities complicate matters.
The novel explores the cost of suppressing these desires, especially as the characters struggle with self-doubt and the fear of vulnerability, questioning whether love can survive in an environment built on performance and sacrifice.
Love, Family, and Personal Growth
The theme of how love intersects with family dynamics is deeply woven into the fabric of Funny Feelings, particularly in the relationship between Meyer and his daughter, Hazel. Meyer’s role as a single father informs his decisions, not just about his career but also about his romantic life.
His intense desire to protect Hazel from any emotional upheaval makes him hesitant to fully embrace his feelings for Farley, fearing that a romantic relationship might destabilize their family unit. Similarly, Farley’s connection with Hazel grows over the course of the story, as she steps into a quasi-maternal role that complicates her feelings for Meyer.
Farley’s growth as a person, from a self-deprecating comedian to a more self-assured woman, is catalyzed by her bond with Meyer and his family. The exploration of how love, whether romantic or familial, can shape personal development and choices underscores the complexity of relationships and the sacrifices individuals make for those they care about.
The Role of Vulnerability and Risk-Taking in True Connection
The theme of vulnerability and the inherent risk of embracing one’s true self in the pursuit of love is a crucial thread that runs through Funny Feelings. Farley and Meyer’s journey is marked by their reluctance to expose their true emotions, not just for each other, but also to themselves.
Farley’s reliance on humor as a defense mechanism serves as a barrier to forming deeper emotional connections, especially with Meyer. Over time, however, both characters are forced to confront their fears of rejection and failure, especially as their fake relationship becomes more authentic.
Meyer’s eventual confession of his past and his feelings for Farley symbolizes the breaking down of emotional walls, where vulnerability becomes a tool for deeper intimacy.
In this light, the novel posits that true emotional connection—whether in love or friendship—requires risk-taking and the courage to be vulnerable, as both Farley and Meyer come to realize that without this emotional honesty, their relationship cannot evolve into something real and lasting.
The Power of Humor as a Coping Mechanism and Path to Healing
Humor is not just Farley’s profession but also her primary coping mechanism. Throughout the story, she uses humor to mask her insecurities, avoid confronting her fears, and deflect emotional intimacy.
This theme is particularly evident in her struggle to deal with her growing affection for Meyer, which she often minimizes or jokes about to keep things light. For Farley, humor has become a shield, an armor that protects her from the pain of vulnerability and the potential hurt of unreciprocated feelings.
However, as her connection with Meyer deepens, she begins to see that humor can also be a vehicle for self-awareness and healing. The novel explores how humor, when used appropriately, can serve as a bridge between individuals, allowing them to navigate difficult emotions and ultimately open up in ways they might not have otherwise.
Farley’s comedic journey, from using humor as a mask to employing it as a tool for emotional expression, mirrors her personal growth and her eventual embrace of a more authentic self.