Angela Nissel Confronts Grief Through Humor

Angela Nissel’s latest memoir, *Good Grief, Pass the Bread, Mom Is Dead*, resonates with me on many levels. It’s a heartfelt narrative about caring for a terminally ill parent, but it’s infused with the kind of dark humor that I often lean on during tough times.

Nissel is no stranger to blending humor with life’s challenges. She first gained attention with *The Broke Diaries*, a blog chronicling her experiences as a financially struggling college student. Her talent for storytelling eventually led her to write and produce for popular shows like *Scrubs* and *The Boondocks*.

One of her significant contributions is co-founding Okayplayer with Questlove, a platform that holds a special place in hip-hop culture for her, though it comes with its own bittersweet memories.

And let’s not forget her favorite GIF submission.

**What is your most indispensable tool?**
A knockoff Swiss Army Knife. It was a gift from the *Scrubs* crew over 20 years ago. I always have a screwdriver, a knife, and a corkscrew in my pocket. I feel like a badass.

**Which is the most underappreciated?**
My dog. He’s analog and can break down my cardboard boxes in seconds. Now they all fit in the recycle bin.

**What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer?**
Craigslist. Young folks underestimate Craigslist. I found a free patio set there, and back in the early 2000s, I made a friend to go clubbing with. I forgot my wallet, and she thought I was scamming her, so we never hung out again, but I still love Craigslist.

**What is one thing you wish you could change about your phone?**
That I somehow still butt dial people. The phone knows my face but can’t tell when my wallet accidentally dials someone?

**What sites do you have pinned to your tab bar?**
Wordle. Connections. Essays I swear I’m going to read but never do. Now I feel guilty. I’m going to read one.

**How many tabs do you have open right now?**
I limit myself to four, or my anxiety starts skyrocketing.

**Which social media platform do you use the most (if any)?**
Instagram, because I’ve been told I need to make “charismatic vertical videos” to promote my latest book in 2026. I’m working on being both vertical and charismatic.

**What is your happy place online?**
A small corner of Reddit where we laugh at the antics of one celebrity wife. I love that place so much I even thanked our group by nickname in my latest book’s acknowledgments.

**What is your favorite gadget you’ve ever owned?**
My first Fitbit. For someone who grew up on Commodore 64s that took an hour to load games, wearable tech that instantly tells you how lazy you are felt like something out of *The Jetsons*. Now robots are performing surgeries, and the bar for futuristic tech keeps moving.

**Which was the most disappointing?**
Wearable tech that was supposed to shock me into breaking bad habits. I was like, “Why am I doing this to myself?”

**What game do you have the fondest memories of?**
*Castle Wolfenstein*! The mechanics on the Commodore 64 blew my mind! Sure, it looks like Pong compared to today’s games, but when I played it with my brother, I felt like I was in the future, taking down Nazis from the past.

**What is one thing you wish you had created?**
I wish I’d created *The Blackening*. It’s a movie so brilliant that I’m unsure how it got made. A lot of brilliance tends to get lost in development in Hollywood, making way for “sure money bet” reboots.

**What creation are you most proud of?**
The groundbreaking site I created with Questlove.

**Which are you least proud of?**
The groundbreaking site I created with Questlove. For 25 years, I’ve had to answer questions about why the only woman involved isn’t mentioned in the site’s creation, why the man I hired replaced me, or why I don’t know who owns the site. I’ve also learned how many women—mostly of color—have been erased from their creations as the Internet evolved from a “cool place to hang” to a corporate megamall. I’m proud of my part in Internet hip-hop history, but I hate how many women I meet who have been erased.

**What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?**
Be interesting and interested! That means getting offline and having things to talk about beyond social media. Despite being so connected, we have a loneliness problem in the US. Engaging with local community college classes and free birdwatching groups has taught me so much and introduced me to new acquaintances, both bird and human.

**What do you do when you need to focus?**
Take an edible. I’m an experienced user now. They used to make me paranoid, but now I’m like an edibles master, knowing just the right dose to take so my anxiety disappears, allowing me to relax and create without that nagging voice saying, “This sucks! Everyone is going to hate this, and you’ll die broke!”

**What do you do when you’re feeling stuck?**
Give myself permission to relax and absorb someone else’s creation. Allowing myself to be stuck and drawing inspiration from someone else’s book, movie, or Substack has been incredibly helpful. There’s so much amazing art out there, and looking at others’ work reminds me why I feel the urge to create.

**When was the last time you went somewhere without your phone?**
Every day I go to the dog park without it. I feel we can learn so much from just watching nature, including our beloved mutts. I believe we stole the game of American football from how dogs play. My dog is always on defense, by the way.

**What’s the last piece of physical media you bought?**
Books! The last book I purchased was *If I Ruled the World* by Amy Dubois Barnett.

**What do you think is worth splurging on?**
Anything that gives you more free time to relax. So, again, books, lol. For $20-$40, I get DAYS of brain relaxation.

**What would the tagline for your biopic be?**
She had jokes, trauma, and a very suspicious relationship with pigeons.

**What’s the last GIF or meme you used?**
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