American on Purpose
by Craig Ferguson
Lowdown: Liked it. Funny memoir from a funny man. There are some poignant moments, but they are told through the lens of Ferguson’s acceptance of who he was and his choices. There is no melodrama.
I’m a big fan of Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show. His opening monologues are brilliant: instead of telling gag after gag, he weaves his jokes into a complete narration. He is hilarious. I’m hoping he takes over The Late Show someday as I’m curious to see what he can do on a bigger stage with a bigger budget.
His memoir covers his whole life, but most of the books is spent on his decade or so as an alcoholic and drug user. He explains his alcholism this way:
People still ask me how much did I drink every day and the answer is, I don’t know. I didn’t keep a journal. There is no tally sheet because it wasn’t… Weight Watchers. I drank what I had to, every day. That’s how much I drank. And here’s the sneaky part. It’s not linear. I didn’t drink every day, not until the end. I simply could never guarantee or even guess what my actions would be after only one sip of alcohol.
Understand this, if nothing else. It’s not about how much you drink. It’s not about the alcohol really at all. It’s about what the alcohol does to the alcoholic. That’s why I would never advocate temperance for those won don’t need it or prohibition for those who don’t want it. If I could drink like a normal person, then I would drink. Since I can’t, I don’t.
Here is something that proves, to my mind, anyway, that I am an alcoholic. If I could drink like a normal person, I would not be interested in drinking alcohol. This is sometimes very difficult for nonalcoholics to understand. That’s what makes them nonalcoholics.
Although it is an inspiring story, in that he has been sober since 1992, I was more fascinated and intrigued by all the crazy things he did and how he was able to function as a knock down drunk for so many years. While there are moments of drama, Ferguson is a comedian, and his book is a comedy. I found myself laughing out load a few times.
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