Harrison Scott Key

Harrison Scott Key is a very funny guy. Indeed he has won the prestigious Thurber Prize for American Humor. And I can vouch for how good - and how funny - the guy is, having read and very much enjoyed his first two books, THE WORLD'S LARGEST MAN and CONGRATULATIONS, WHO ARE YOU AGAIN? He's also very smart, and extremely well read, having spent the better part of a decade in the halls of higher learning and earning a Ph.D. His writing reflects all those years of study, with frequent allusions ranging from the ancient Greeks (Oedipus Rex) and Shakespeare all the way up to and including the esteemed works of Phish and Taylor Swift. And the Bible too, of course, from his childhood and youth spent in an evangelical religious culture, and subsequent years of studying and puzzling over both the Old and New Testaments as literature.

All that erudition - and humor - are still still very much in evidence in his latest effort, another memoir titled HOW TO STAY MARRIED: THE MOST INSANE LOVE STORY EVER TOLD. But this time his story is much darker. In fact the book's starkly black and white cover, but with a grey area in between, are perhaps illustrative of his subject: infidelity, depression and a marriage in deep trouble. Harrison's marriage to Lauren began under a cloud, as her mother had just died from cancer, leaving her deeply depressed, yet struggling to make the best of the situation. As his career progressed and their circumstances improved, Lauren found herself often overwhelmed and lonely with three young children to care for, mostly on her own. In her own chapter, she confides -

"I loved being a stay-at-home mom, but no one prepares you for how lonely it is ... I grew more miserable with every passing day. I felt so alone."

And so she drifted into an affair with a neighbor. Harrison is mostly oblivious, and when she confesses and asks for a divorce, he is simultaneously shocked, angry, confused and devastated. He seeks help and counsel from friends and their church, causing him to change churches. He agonizes over their children, what divorce would do to them. (And so does she.) He vows to fight for their marriage. They get counseling, individually and together. They reconcile. It all happens again. He consults a divorce lawyer as things come to a head. He confronts her with what she is doing. She has an emotional breakdown. He rushes to her rescue as her lover looms just offstage.

I could NOT put this book down. Could NOT! It reads almost like a thriller, but with much darker overtones. Key's trademark humorous style is there throughout all of this dark drama, but I could almost not be bothered with it. I had to know what happened next. That was all that mattered. Because in addition to humor, Key has now added SUSPENSE to his writing repertoire.

Anyone who has ever experienced hard times in their marriage - and I'll wager that includes almost everyone (us too) - will relate to this story. (And I'm so glad that Lauren provided her own chapter, with her side of the story too.) In their search for help, the Keys joined a new church, a makeshift congregation they called "The Church of Broken Windows." There they learned -

"... love is what saves you. Love, love enough to confess your failures, love to forgive the failures of others, is always what saves your life, your soul, your family, your marriage."

There are things in here that will make you laugh. Key is known for that after all. But I also did a lot of wincing as I read their story, remembering some tough times in our own marriage. Because this is a scary story. But it's also a beautiful story, and bravely told. You will keep on thinking about it for a long time. I know I will. My very highest recommendation.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (plus d'informations)

I loved the first 13 chapters! They were laugh out loud funny, with just the right amount of cynicism and sentimentality. Mississippi is truly another country, maybe even another planet(my mother was born and raised there but she always told people she was from Memphis, that says a lot).

What happened after Chapter 13? He got married, his wife finally got pregnant, they moved to Savannah, they had kids, they had marriage problems, blah blah blah. Yep, with the exception of chapter 18, chapters 14 through the end of the book could have been anybody's life, living in any state in America. And I really did not need to have an entire chapter about potty training his daughter, yeah everyone who has kids has to go through this and no it is not fun (altho I think most of us get our kids fully trained before they are 5, unlike the author and his wife)-Really 5?! Nor did I need an entire chapter of his wife's pregnancy and 32 hours of labor with no drugs.

And of course the last chapter is devoted to rhapsodizing about what a great, wonderful dad he had. That's nice, but a little sentimental goo goes a long way.

So here's my recommendation. Read the first 13 chapters chapter 18, then stop and you will think the book deserves 5 stars. I wish had.… (plus d'informations)

If you ever write anything that you share with others, people will likely tell you that you should write a book or you should get whatever snippet they've read published. But people generally have no concept of what writing a book (never mind the quality), getting it to a publishable state, and then, miracle of miracles, getting it traditionally published actually takes. It's not easy. And it can take years. If it ever happens at all. Harrison Scott Key's humorous memoir Congratulations, Who Are You Again? details the long and complicated journey he took to being a published author and while his experience is his alone, it is also universal enough to serve as a cautionary tale for those who think that writing a book is their ticket to fame and riches. Writing is a calling, publishing is simply a happy (read not guaranteed) outcome for that calling.

Key's first memoir, The World's Largest Man, focuses on his relationship with his father. It won The Thurber Prize for American Humor. So readers might be forgiven for thinking that Key had it all figured out as an author. This, his second memoir, shows just how hard he worked on that book to make it funny, to make it appear effortless, and even to get it down on the page in the first place. He knows that his first book has not only been published but has been successful by many measures as he's writing this one but he doesn't hesitate to pull back the curtain and really detail the grueling process, including harboring a long held dream that often felt out of reach or unrealistic, eleven years of writing around the other important things in his life (family, job, etc.), and the inside view of getting a book published including the marketing and touring, readings and interviews after the book comes out. Key is open and honest about his journey but also delightfully self-deprecating as he presents the highs and lows. He shares things about his personal process and about his private life, the highs and lows. He is a talented writer, truly able to make a reader laugh in places, often just as his numerous setbacks threaten to overwhelm and he balances both struggle and hope carefully. This is a testament to chasing a dream, nurturing it and cursing it but ultimately staying true to it. Key may not be a famous author, not immediately recognizable or a household name, but he's been successful at this difficult thing called writing for sure. Recommended for budding authors and those who are interested in an inside view of the publishing world from the author's perspective.… (plus d'informations)