Review by sacredheartsbookclub -- Don't Mind Me, I'm Jus...

[sacredheartsbookclub]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Having a Bad Life" by Lewis Kempfer.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Don’t Mind Me, I’m Having a Bad Life by Lewis Kempfer is a memoir detailing the author’s life. His is a story of drugs, sex and bad spending habits and the events both propelling and surrounding these circumstances. The memoir unfolds, what would otherwise be the preceding events to a horrible end, into a story of the long stretch of darkness before the light at the end of the tunnel. The memoir details the author’s turbulent life and its culmination in his belief in Jesus Christ.

This memoir was written with nothing to hide. Kempfer wears his heart on his sleeve and it provides insight into the childhood traumas that morph into adult behaviour. The author recounts moments that developed his concept of a father with a self-awareness that was insightful to read. His penchant for giving a readable chronological history of his life is a skill that helps the reader to draw lines of correlation and causation. His writing style helps the reader to empathise with Kempfer at all stages of his life without ever inciting pity.

I found it refreshing to read a story about a person’s suffering that did not pin God as the architect of it all but rather as a constant refuge, subtly at first and then as the ultimate light at the end of the tunnel. The author’s voice maintains a humanity that is easily lost in the telling of a story about ‘finding’ God, making the story emotionally and intellectually accessible for its intended audience.

A drawback to this novel would be that sometimes Kempfer's attempts at humour, although intended to ease the reader through the retelling of past traumas, seem to make light of what has happened with undertones that lean towards being morbid. His awry sense of humour could otherwise simply be a line of defence developed during a turbulent life.

All things considered, I give this memoir a rating of 3 out of 4 stars. The writing held my attention and his story tugged at my heart strings (I found myself taking breaks to digest what I had read). This rating is shy of 4 stars because of the humour that sometimes added to feelings of discomfort when it was intended to do otherwise.

The novel contains explicit language and imagery, thus I would not recommend this novel for young readers. Don’t Mind Me, I’m Having a Bad Life is insightful for the believer and the non-believer alike and is not within the reaches of anyone looking for a light-hearted read. Proceed with an open mind and be ready to wade through the heavy darkness into light.

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Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Having a Bad Life
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