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January 14, 2010

People Are Unappealing by Sara Barron

I picked up Sara Barron's People Are Unappealing the other day because I was at Barnes & Noble and something about the cover caught my attention.

This is a collection of autobiographical tales. While most autobiographies are written by successful people, though, People Are Unappealing was written by Sara Barron, and is specifically about her less than successful undertakings in life. From childhood to the present, where she is roughly thirty years old, she discusses her offbeat family, her addiction to masterbation, life as an acting student in New York, and post-college exploits that include stand-up comedy, waitressing, and an aborted career as a Coyote Ugly bartender.

I'm sure that if I met Sara in real life that we probably wouldn't get along - she is loud, unfocused, unrealistic, and not particularly motivated. And yet, I enjoyed her writing very much. What Sara lacks in drive she makes up for in insight - she has a talent for looking at herself from afar and astutely evaluating her strengths and weaknesses. She can laugh at her own foibles, and admit when she has become something that she had previously reviled.

People Are Unappealing is not a success story. This is not a book to read in order to gain motivation or inspiration. However, for an introspective look at a life that may not be working out according to plan but that is interesting nonetheless, this is a good read.

Posted by In Repair at January 14, 2010 08:59 AM

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