"The wicked irony of
alcoholism, of addiction, is that the cure is denial: Either we’re in denial of
our patterns or we’re denying ourselves what we need." --Joseph Mattson
I heard Joseph read last
night at the Bird Sanctuary at Griffith Park and he totally blew me away. I
liked his books, especially the title story in his book "Eat Hell,"
but last night he read a piece that was tragic and close in time and it was
brilliant. It's about his mother's murder. The sentencing phase of the murder
trial hasn't even been completed yet the essay he delivers feels complete.
I don't know many writers
who can write about trauma so brilliantly while they're still experiencing it,
without the essay being super depressing or turning into a meditation.
He writes about addiction
often, Skid Row-type homelessness and topics that aren't easily relatable to
most people but he makes it real though hard to watch sometimes. But this
particular essay that he read last night went above and beyond. He could have
dragged us through the emotional pain of the story and the essay would have
still been good because he's a great writer and editor anyway, but instead he
found a way to look at the murder more objectively and at the same time, with
so much care. He was her son. Brilliant. I encourage you to read it HERE. Thank you Joseph!
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