I was far more scared to fail — to have written a lousy book that people ignored — than I was embarrassed about people knowing that, say, I had sex with some random guy in Paris.
Tag: author
The Eternal Holiday of the Alcoholic
When you drink constantly, you become numb, slipping down into a sub-life, a waking coma. You become a chaotic ghost that exists almost at one step removed from everything else. The following is an excerpt from Jolly Lad – The Expanded North American Edition, published this month by MIT Press and available here. After I… Continue reading The Eternal Holiday of the Alcoholic
"I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much": Judith Vigna’s Misguided Bibliotherapy
Vigna seems convinced that a few watercolor washes can make the world a better place, but her idealism is misguided; stories of the horrible undercurrent of the real world are more likely to scare children. Although the following review is not positive, I empathize with what Judith Vigna tried to accomplish. In the late 1980’s,… Continue reading "I Wish Daddy Didn't Drink So Much": Judith Vigna’s Misguided Bibliotherapy
So You Want to Write About Addicts
At its best, addict lit satiates our quintessential human yearning for stories that may lead to salvation. We want warm fuzzies. We want sweet, sweet, redemption. We started each morning of residential treatment with burned muffins, a house meeting, and introductions. “My name is Tom and I’m a junkie here on vacation. My goal today… Continue reading So You Want to Write About Addicts
Neil Strauss' Evolution: From Pick-Up Artist to Relationship Expert
“Your relationship success has nothing to do with your partner, it’s really all about you and working on yourself…Until you do that you’ll always fall in love with the same kind of person.” Neil Strauss has an enviable list of accomplishments. A nine time best-selling author, he got his start as a music critic writing… Continue reading Neil Strauss' Evolution: From Pick-Up Artist to Relationship Expert