So this week I read
God, if you're not up there, I'm F*cked
by Darrell Hammond
(kudos for a nice cover photo)
So things were a little slow at work and I picked this book up that the secretary had read and pretty much read the whole thing in a day. It is another foray into non-fiction which isn't usually my thing. The story is an autobiographical look at Darrell Hammond's life.
Hammond was a Saturday night live cast, and I have to say one that I was never really that fond of. Despite being known as a "funny man" Hammond had a terrible childhood and on-going troubles with both drugs and alcohol. His mother was terribly abusive and certainly not loving. It was the birth of his own daughter that brought about this realization. This lack of love really manifested itself in his self-loathing and self-abuse. Had it not been for his funny man career it would seem likely that he would be dead.
It is hard to review such an emotional book. I appreciate his honesty and his struggle is heartbreaking, but the book itself seems a little cold. It also lacks certain details, He had a sister, though she is barely mentioned, his wife and daughter aren't mentioned often either although it would seem obvious that they were there for all of this. Now perhaps he felt they had their own stories to tell and it wasn't his place to speculate as to how they felt. Perhaps I am just too curious or nosey for my own good.
Overall the book was a very quick read and I learned some interesting things about SNL, but I would have liked more details. It felt like something he wrote to help himself through therapy, which is amazing but not at all sensational. I recommend the book, and I hope its writer find inner peace.
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