“Coming to” and “sobering up” are two distinctly different states of being. Each has its own independent schedule, and each comes with its own shocking revelations.
Excerpt from I Am Not Myself These Days
The story as I stated revolves around Josh/Aqua and his time in New York City. I refuse to say much about the book because revealing anything truly feels like a spoiler. Josh meets a man by the name of Jack during one of his club nights as Aqua, and the two hit it off in the most insane ways. Did I mention that Jack was a call boy who’s clients mostly want him to beat them up and call them scum? No? Well there you go. I’ll let that pique your curiosity.
The writing style is very much in the first person, though it does switch between tenses rather quickly, which forces you to pay attention. The transitions can be jarring at time, but for the most part the story flows well. It’s not often that a book can spur real emotion in me; sure I can feel for the characters in the book, but few can actually make me feel happy or sad based simply on the words in a paragraph. This novel manages to do just that which sets the mark way higher than normal. The book is a laugh pretty much the entire way through, and even provides many an insight as to the live of a professional drag queen.
Some of the ending seemed a little drawn out, and I found myself skimming through a bit of it. On top of that the book does get a little repetitive, though I think that was partially the intention. Repetition and spiraling seemed to be a major theme throughout the book… so maybe this memoir is also a cautionary tale? Maybe it’s more of a guidebook for those in the scene. I have no idea really and I refuse to read more into the book than what is probably there. I will say that you have to get the P.S version of the book if only for the added part about Jack.
I can safely say that Josh Kilmer-Purcell has lived an interesting life, if only in small, explosive bursts. I am eternally thankful that he decided to write this memoir to share with the world. It’s actually one of the few books that I can say that I read straight through without getting bored. Hell I sat in a luke-warm bath just to finish the last 30 pages of the damned book, just because I was so eager to finish it! Suffice it to say it’s high on my list of good books.
To think I found it in a book overflow store while waiting for a venues doors to open. I mean it’s right there on Amazon.
Read this book people, seriously.
9/10
Leave a Reply