You can get through very serious and sometimes horrible and sometimes embarrassing and very awkward situations with humor. It gives us a way out.

Evanovich frames humor as a practical tool for survival. In “serious,” “horrible,” or “awkward” moments, laughter can create psychological distance, lowering fear and shame enough to think clearly and act. Calling humor “a way out” suggests it functions like an escape hatch: it doesn’t erase the problem, but it changes one’s relationship to it, restoring agency and perspective. The line also implies a social dimension—jokes can relieve tension and invite connection, making difficult situations more bearable. In Evanovich’s comic-thriller world, this becomes an ethic: meet adversity with wit to stay human and keep going.