Late comedian Joan Rivers to be memorialized in daughter's book

[February 12, 2015] NEW YORK (Reuters) - Melissa Rivers, the only child of late comedian Joan Rivers, will write about their relationship in a book to be published later this year, her publisher said on Wednesday.

In "The Book of Joan: Tales of Mirth, Mischief and Manipulation," Rivers, 47, will share observations, personal stories and thoughts about her mother, who died following complications during a medical procedure last year at the age of 81.

The book is scheduled to be released on May 5 in the United States and Canada by Crown Archetype, an imprint of Penguin Random House's Crown Publishing Group.

“Joan was beloved the world over for her fearlessness and one-of-a-kind sense of humor. But no one was closer to her than her daughter and partner-in-crime," Trish Boczkowski, vice president and editorial director of Crown Archetype, said in a statement.

Rivers said she wanted to write a book that would make her mother laugh.

"In our family we always believed that laughter was the best medicine. Not only are there less side effects than Prozac but it's a lot cheaper than therapy," she said in a statement.

(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Eric Kelsey and Tom Brown)

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