It's no secret that every writer likes a good review. But I especially love THIS ONE because the reader really seems to understand what I was going for. Writing a "memoir" -- I begged for it to not be called that! -- is a daunting proposition, so it's heartening to hear that my not-a-famous-person story resonates with some people.
Both casual and longtime readers (I fall somewhere in between) of the author's blog -- although fortunately that is not a prerequisite to enjoying his book -- will be expecting comical anecdotes, witticisms aplenty, astute pop cultural references, and tidbits from celebrity encounters, and while these are all happily present and accounted for in this engaging memoir, what struck me most was its heart. While Mr. Walsh succeeds in capturing, through his keen recollection of detail that allows him to put forth an evocative cultural wallpaper of the era in which he came of age from the late 70s into the early 80s, a slice of suburban Americana both in the Midwest and Southwest from which he hails ("Michizona"is the memorable shorthand), he uses this backdrop not only for its own sake, but as a canvas for providing a poignant portrait what it was like for a gay teenager coming to terms with one's sexuality in what was still a challenging time for such. This isn't to claim it is straightforward even now; indeed, as a reader who took his own turn in the subsequent early 90s, this made for an illuminating read that not only led me to nod sympathetically throughout these passages but also compare my own notes with the fits and starts of LGBT progress since, both in my experience and contemporary.
Mr. Walsh then neatly bundles up these slightly claustrophobic but wholesome beginnings and sets them as both prologue and contrast to the eventful and even colorfully hectic lifestyle hallmarks he attains in the bustling cosmopolitan centers of West Hollywood and Manhattan, with a careerist layover in DC in between. While the arc could be taken simplistically as "hometown boy done good" as he achieves some of his longtime youthful aspirations in the process, and there is, ultimately, that rewardingly positive journey of narration, it is instead the stark candor to be found throughout that left the most affecting impressions on me. Beyond the expected tales of one's complicated relationship with one's parents (and these chapters do indeed provide a good deal of emotional heft),
Mr. Walsh does not shy away from disclosing uncomfortable yet compelling personal details, not only the aforementioned painful recollections of grappling with his nascent awareness of others' hostility to homosexuality, but the tumultuous nature of his first serious relationship, various health obstacles to both his physical and mental well-being, the specter of ambivalence over having opted for one career path over another, and overall a series of frank personal and professional episodes that both informed his outlook on life and happen to make for entertaining standalone essays, to boot.
In the end, it was my recent reread of "Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?" that led me to leave a review even though I'm not ordinarily given to such, simply because it was even better the second time around; I got to reacquaint myself with the sections I recalled most vividly, as well as pick up on other details I had overlooked the first time. Mr. Walsh's work is a fine testament to the genre, in my view.
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