Review of Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Having a Bad Life
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- Wy_Bertram
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Review of Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Having a Bad Life
Lewis Kempfer’s life was not an easy one. Growing up in the late 1900s with an abusive father and a constant supply of demoralisation, he would develop a shattered sense of self before his teenage years. Adulthood would not be much different, as Lewis desperately sought love and validation only to be met with disappointment most of the time. Eventually, hard drugs and dangerous sex would find their way into the author’s life, his addictions his only constants, until his inevitable plummet to rock bottom. Half-dead in a seedy motel room, regretting every decision that led him to that moment, Kempfer would finally find hope and healing in the way of the Christian faith, a religion he had spent most of his life disparaging.
This memoir would be a hard read for a lot of people. It is stark and uncomfortable as the author forwent any varnishing to present the dark chronicles of his life as realistically as possible. From detailed accounts of the sexual abuse he endured as a child, to his drug use and other self-destructive behaviours he would indulge in at the height of the HIV epidemic in America, Kempfer laid everything bare in this book.
Despite how outlandish some of the anecdotes in this book read, the sad reality is that many people have lived similar lives as the author, and he hopes to reach these individuals with a message of hope. That said, this book is not entirely religious. It is primarily a memoir, and the author’s faith mainly serves as a resolution to the chaotic spiral of his life, therefore one does not need to ascribe to a particular belief to read this book.
Don’t Mind Me, I’m Just Having a Bad Life, was heartbreaking and honest. Kempfer wrote well, and his decision not to spare the reader the lurid details of his life made for a uniquely disconcerting experience. The author seems to have lived a full, albeit tragic life, and, fortunately, he was able to find his answers at his lowest, though I wish the revelation could have come sooner for him.
My rating of this book is four out of four stars. I found it to be well-edited, save for a few errors, and though it was not the most pleasant book to read, there was nothing I particularly disliked about it.
I would recommend this book to people in need of inspiration, or with an interest in touching personal stories. Faith and queerness always make for an interesting combination, and this book is built on that combo, so readers beware. This book is only suitable for mature audiences. It contains strong language, references to dangerous sex and child sexual abuse, other forms of abuse, as well as drug use. Reader discretion is advised.
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Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Having a Bad Life
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