Blog Time USA!

By Lisa Harmon

Well I can't believe its Friday and I have to write something compelling/brilliant/memorable AGAIN. Do only gay guys write memoirs? And do they all have OCD? Or is it just a coincidence that I started with David Sedaris and then went on to Augusten Burroughs? They seem to have some similar characteristics. I had to turn the book over repeatedly to double check which author I was actually reading.

I did, in between, read a memoir by a woman – Jeanette Walls. And I have figured out the secret to writing the great memoir: You have to be raised by mentally ill and preferably self-medicating parent(s).

My family didn't use drugs. And aside from being totally unhip, they didn't suffer from any recognized mental illnesses. Just my luck.

I find myself here again, learning a skill that I probably will never turn into a paycheck. Art is all well and good but if its not paying my bills what is the point, exactly?

And don't tell me that it is because I'm sharing. If I was sharing something that someone wanted to share, my bills would be getting paid!

I never would have even picked up that book by Augusten Burroughs if I didn't really think about it for a second. That's because I was traumatized by a guy named Burroughs once.

I finally realized the traumatic one was William and I gave the book by Augusten a chance. I don't know how people find these things humorous, I am always appalled at the events depicted. But its a pretty interesting read and anyway it isn't giving me nightmares like that psycho William Burroughs!

Not only did I not finish Naked Lunch I'm pretty sure I threw it out because it was giving me the heebie jeebies.

If you know of any good memoirs please drop me a note. I've got to pad up my reading list with stuff that won't scare the crap out of me.