In the 2012 pilot of HBO’s Girls, Lena Dunham’s character Hannah calls herself the “voice of a generation”. Not long after, Dunham – who created, wrote and directed the hit series – became one herself.
Across six seasons, the TV show followed four young women in New York as they navigated friendship, romantic relationships and careers. Dubbed Sex and The City for your twenties, it’s depiction of messy and flawed women searching for an intentity resonated with viewers globally.
The show has continued to enjoy a cult following, especially in its study of female friendship and mental health, alongside a candid portrayal of sex and body imagine.
Dunham, meanwhile, has faced countless controversies since the show’s end, leading to intense media scrutiny – something she addresses in her new memoir, Famesick. Covering her rapid rise to fame, endometriosis diagnosis and addiction to opiods and painkillers, the book has also hit the headlines for detailing the end of her relationship with Jack Antonoff.
But it’s her passages on Adam Driver that have really got the internet talking. Dunham reveals the complexity of her relationship with the Girl’s co-star, which mirrored the on and off-again dynamic the two characters shared in the show.
Read more: Don’t miss these Audible releases for April and May
Adding extra weight to the memoir, Lena Dunham narrates the audiobook version herself – here’s everything you need to know, including what’s been said about Driver.
'Famesick' by Lena Dunham, published by Fourth Estate
Read by Lena Dunham, Famesick traces the last decade and more of her life – right from selling the pilot of Girls. From appearing on the cover of Vogue to meeting Oprah, to her struggles with addition and tumultuous relationships.
The actor and writer extensively details living with endometriosis, as well as colitis, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, early menopause and PTSD – all of which conflated in a “lost decade” of constant pain.
Following the backlash from her first memoir, Not That Kind Of Girl – where she wrote about childhood interactions with her younger sibling – Dunham reveals how she handled the public attention and accusations. The book is said to frankly address her past problematic behaviour, while assessing whether her professional success was worth her trauma.
Among the many takeaways, she details the unravelling of her relationship with producer Jack Antonoff after his infidelity. When it comes to Adam Driver, Dunham’s account of her experience with the actor reflects his chaotic – and toxic – character in Girls.
She reveals how their relationship became confusing from the offset, when Driver took the lead in a sex scene causing Dunham to loose her directorial control. “It wasn’t that I felt violated — and I also wouldn’t know if I had, as there was little in my sexual life that I hadn’t allowed to happen, and for no pay. But I felt that something intimate, confusing and primal had played out in a scenario I was meant to control,” she writes.
Further tidbits reveal how Driver walked out of the room after she showed him the pilot episode and didn’t get in contact again for three weeks. There is one instant alleged where Driver hurled a chair at a wall after Dunham forgot her lines during a scene.
“I remember doing a fight scene with Adam and how scary it was to meet someone so totally present with such absence,” she writes. “Late one night, as we practiced lines in my trailer, I found that mine were suddenly gone. I knew I’d written them. I’d known them only minutes before. But when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a stammer — until finally, Adam screamed, ‘F***ING SAY SOMETHING’ and hurled a chair at the wall next to me. ‘WAKE THE F*** UP,’ he told me. ‘I’M SICK OF WATCHING YOU JUST STARE.'”
Dunham says how his on and off-again familiarity led to her wondering if he liked her. “He could be short-tempered and verbally aggressive, condescending and physically imposing. He could also be protective, loving even,” Dunham writes. When the shooting wrapped for the final season, the two reportedly cried between takes, with Dunham claiming she was “heartbroken” after he told her he was engaged.
A memoir read by the subject themselves only add to the intensity of the story. Famesick is available to download now on Audible, costing £15.99 or 1 credit with a subscription (£5.99 a month, Audible.co.uk).
Buy now £15.5, Audible.co.uk
Best autobiographies and memoirs that everyone should read in 2025
