I'll Have What She's Having

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes cursing.

Chelsea Handler’s house in Mallorca, Spain, is symbolic of community. Handler references her time at and relationship with the Mallorca house repeatedly throughout the memoir. She particularly highlights the island’s and the house’s importance in the chapter “Mallorca Is the Tits.” The first time Handler ever visited Mallorca, she was awed that it was “mountainous, dramatic, and the size of a small country” (243). She spent this first visit biking around the island exploring orchards, vineyards, beaches, and coves, and quickly fell in love with the place. When she saw a for sale sign in front of “a dilapidated seaside villa” at the end of the trip, she was eager to purchase the house for herself (243). She felt an ineffable connection with the island and saw a future for herself here, however undefined it might be. This is why she defied her business managers’ advice not to buy the Mallorca house and quickly went through with the sale.

Since its purchase, Handler’s Mallorca house has become a refuge and a respite. Handler doesn’t always vacation alone here and most often invites her friends and family to join her.