Cindy Pierce’s fearless personality and nonstop humor shine in a collection of stories from her life as the youngest of seven in an inn, through relationships, parenting mishaps, and the messy adventure of being human. At its heart, the show celebrates self-kindness, letting go of others’ opinions, and embracing life’s glitches.

Pierce’s gift for laughing at herself leaves audiences lighter and less alone. “Embarrassment doesn’t get its hold on me,” she says. “By the time I became a mom, it was clear that becoming an even-keeled, well-behaved adult was not an option. Shameless gusto is how I roll.”

Photos by Geoff Hansen

Cindy Pierce will touch your heart, make you laugh, and inspire a tear or two as she shares stories of her beloved mother, Nancy, and her family’s journey with dementia. Focusing on her journey as a caregiver, Cindy will share moments of high comedy and profound loss, recognizing dementia’s challenges with tenderness and a healthy dose of humor.

Photo by Caitlin Gomes

Functionally dysfunctional families start with well-intended choices and often lead to unraveling consequences. When Nancy dies at ninety-three, she gets one last chance to explain her six decades as a mother of seven, wife, and innkeeper. Nancy and her husband Reg leapt from suburban Connecticut to rural New Hampshire to run an inn with no experience and plenty of nerve. The ramshackle place deepened their love and held their sorrows at bay. As dementia takes hold, Nancy kept her conviction, humor, and sass—offering hard-earned wisdom about family, love, and the art of adapting right up to the final exit ramp.

Photo by Kata Sasvari

You will be howling with laughter when Pierce hits the stage with fresh stories reflecting her uncanny resilience despite her life of unraveling incident magnetism. Pierce starts the show exploring how she developed resilience thanks to the influence of a cast of family characters who helped raise her. As an adult, setbacks don’t faze her thanks to her ability to find humor, pick herself back up, and keep diving into life. The feast of stories include Pierce interviewing dancers backstage at a strip club, discovering the wonders of oatmeal diapers, and working through the challenge of finding lady clothes.

Photo by Geoff Hansen

Cringe, laugh, cheer, and be relieved that Cindy experienced these mishaps and triumphs rather than you! Dicey situations retold — from the female condom, to an escapade with the “Last Resort Bra,” to everything you wanted to know about urinal mints — all illustrating her life-long determination to find humor rather than humiliation from her anatomy.

Photo by Geoff Hansen