About the Book:

End Credits: How I Broke Up with Hollywood is a useful and easy-to-understand book used in UCLA Extension's world-famous Writers' Program.

End Credits is a candid and revealing look at life in television, Hollywood, and work in the writer's room, from an insider who wrote for some of the most popular television shows in history – Friends, Desperate Housewives, and Breaking Bad.

Ever since Patty Lin retired from television writing at the ripe age of thirty-eight, people have asked her: "Why would you quit such a cool career?" Especially when they find out she worked on some of the most successful shows in television history. But what if achieving your professional dreams comes at too high a personal cost? That's what Patty Lin started to ask herself after years in the cutthroat TV industry. One minute she was a tourist, begging her way into the audience of Late Night with David Letterman. Just a few years later, she was an insider who – through relentless hard work and sacrifice – had earned a seat in the writers' rooms of the hottest TV shows of all time. The Friends staff had 14 writers. The days were typically 12 hours long but often stretched well into the wee hours of the morning. While writing for Friends, Freaks and Geeks, Desperate Housewives, and Breaking Bad, screenwriter Patty Lin steeled herself against the indignities of a chaotic, abusive, male-dominated work culture, not just as one of the few women in the writers' room, but frequently as the only non-white person on staff.

There is no happy ending to her story: Patty Lin ultimately stepped away from the TV industry entirely. End Credits: How I Broke Up with Hollywood is a funny, fresh, and eye-opening memoir that will resonate with anyone trying to please their parents, maintain a love life, and find their way in the world. And it will inspire countless dreamers to listen to their inner voices and know when it's time to get out.

What people say:

"A hilarious and brutally honest memoir about life as a writer in Hollywood which could only be told by someone who escaped." — Judd Apatow, producer of Girls and Bridesmaids and director of 40-Year-Old Virgin

"I love Patty Lin. I think she's one of the most talented writers I've ever met. And she's also a great person. True, she does have a few food issues that made ordering lunch each day a bit of an ordeal, but she's got a heart of gold. And we had a blast writing together." — Paul Feig, creator of Freaks and Geeks and director of Bridesmaids

"Patty Lin is one f*%king brave lady! What do you do when you find yourself at a bizarre crossroads? You have what everyone in the world wants, but it's not what's in your heart. It takes courage to trust yourself and walk away. I am deeply in love with Patty and her tough, funny Tinseltown tale. This book is more than just a showbiz memoir, it's the story of a beautiful, creative soul getting back to who she really is." — Emily Spivey, writer for Saturday Night Live and Parks and Recreation

"With End Credits, Patty Lin has given us more than just a story about walking away from Hollywood to save her soul. This is also a critique of ... the ways a first-generation Asian American woman must compromise herself for a laugh-track version of happiness and success in which at first the sky seems the limit, but turns out to be as limiting as the perimeters of a TV screen." — Gina Frangello, author of Blow Your House Down

"A wise, funny, whip-smart, and very moving book, End Credits takes us behind the scenes at some of the best-known TV shows of the last 25 years. You get the dirt, sure – but that's only a part of what separates this memoir from the pack. Lin takes us on what is ultimately a brave journey to redemption and wholeness. A beautifully written book and a fascinating story. Lin's debut shows brilliance and the promise of more. A stunner." — Rob Roberge, author of Liar: A Memoir

"Patty Lin contains multitudes. Her memoir, End Credits, is masterfully written and reminds us that the end of one chapter is the beginning of another." — Karen Duffy, author of Wise Up

"End Credits is a compulsively readable tale that had me abandoning sleep to keep turning the pages. In addition to providing a totally riveting fly-on-the-wall perspective on the cutthroat television industry, it manages to be hilarious and heartfelt at the same time. A beautiful memoir – I loved every single moment." — Alisha Fernandez Miranda, author of My What If Year

"End Credits is a sharp, funny, and moving memoir that not only takes you behind-the-scenes of Hollywood, but also into the heart of a powerful, creative woman who keeps pushing past her limits. Patty Lin is a force of nature – I'm not sure there's anything she can't do – and her story will no doubt inspire readers everywhere." — Susie Luo, author of Paper Names

About the Author:

Patty Lin is an American writer and producer known for Freaks and Geeks, Friends, Desperate Housewives, and Breaking Bad. She has also written pilots for Fox, CBS, and Nickelodeon. Her Breaking Bad episode, "Gray Matter," was nominated for a Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Script in the Episodic Drama category. She retired from TV writing to pursue other interests and to write her own book, based on her memoirs as a producer and screenwriter.