wish the writer and editor had been more strict about this book. A lot of unnecessary detail that did not add to the quality, lessons, themes, or anything else of the story. There were many pointless asides that felt like an exercise in showing off how much he remembered about his childhood, which, while fantastic for an individual himself, is a bit frustrating for the reader. Where are you going with this? Why does this matter -- and very often, it kind of just didn't. I think the editor should have been more ruthless about the structure and details included in this book. The stories could have been much more impactful this way, in my opinion, and maybe included one or two more (if he desired) with the amount of unnecessary text that would be taken out. 

Was a bit confused also about the level of censorship in this book. He writes, "shit," "damn," and some other profanity but then writes "F---" multiple times. What's the difference? He also censors "p----" in the beginning, but later uses the word "pussy." Pick one? He also describes for a while masturbation, but does not use the word, nor any other euphemism for it. No disrespect, but I was confused. Why talk about it obliquely for various paragraphs and then not say it? Why censor one word in one instant, and then not later on? Why is one cuss word so much worse than the rest? Why not just not use it, including when talking directly to the reader (as in: not directly recounting other's speech but a conscious 4th-wall break). 

Also, the constant translations/clarifications about accent in language was a bit tiring to read. I kind of wish he trusted his reader a bit more or instead used footnotes -- it just broke the flow of sentences and got annoying after the 50th "cah [car]" bit (fake example). 

Some of this things strike me as something that might be funny if told aloud in a story, but were genuinely bothersome to read. Maybe it works better as an audiobook? I don't know. 

What I did enjoy was how brutally honest the writer was, about his own flaw as a child and his confusion about understanding how to be. There were really funny moments, such as when he described not really trusting blonde men as a child (same!) or trusting guys with glasses. His constant looking for older guy mentors is something I don't think many would admit, and was interesting to read about. His genuine confusion that he was being mean to his classmates, and that his teacher (whom he considered a friend) would not check-in with him prior to mid-year report cards to his parents made a lot of sense and made me sad to read. Sometimes kids emulate things that they think will bring them closer to others, and really don't understand that it's actually alienating them. Adults sometimes do this, too. It's great that he's communicating his own journey in realizing this, as it is something I haven't read about in many memoirs. It was also fascinating to read about his perspective on the 80s as a child, what social dynamics looked like (his K and some elementary teachers being his neighbors; his father being able to advocate for him being held-back to be bigger than the other boys (wild!); how people adopted comedy routines to use on their friends at parties/get-togethers; etc.). There was a steady track of sexism going on in his thoughts during his childhood that I think was common back then -- calling adult women floozy's and bimbo's, even when he's a little kid -- that I think we use different language for today that was also interesting. I feel like people really self-buff themselves into being amazing and that makes them untrustworthy narrators; Gulman is incredibly honest about what was happening and exactly what he thought about it. 

Reading his 'modern-day' (2017-18) segments is also interesting to see how connected he is to his community, family, and girlfriend while feeling incredibly isolated. He really rallied, as did his loved ones, for him to get better. Again, a great aspect of his taste for details leads to others really understanding exactly how he was feeling when he was truly in the depths, including feeling a lot of shame, which I think is an emotion internationally, but also many Americans in particular, really hide from. Both from themselves, and talking about in the public sphere, despite it being one of the most overwhelmingly human emotions possible. This is a really important book for that reason. 

I think this might be helpful book for people with depression who need a distraction and also a source of connection with others who understand what they are going through. It might be more amiable to those open to "side-quests" or really enjoy detailed imagery about the entire dynamics of situations.