dirtbag massachusetts a confessional book buy

I did find safety, and love, and friendship, and fun in a massive brick BDSM porn compound, the same way I did in bars and bookstores and in wandering the streets of the Bay Area. “It’s strange – when you grow up in a house with your parents, when you go to church regularly, you’re supposed to feel safe in these spaces. And Fitzgerald’s journey to these goals is nothing if not fascinating. At their core, they are about what most personal essays are about: finding love, purpose, and understanding. His essays delve into each of the above topics with honesty and nuance, unfurling a lifetime’s worth of mistakes, anger, and search for meaning. You’d be forgiven for having high expectations of groundbreaking revelations, especially for a book that promises to explore the possibility of “a more far-reaching vision of masculinity.” The material is there: a LOT has happened to Fitzgerald, and he approaches each chapter of his life with kindness and a genuine care for the truth. These elements provide substantial fodder for a series of books, and so the promise of a collection is intriguing.ĭirtbag, Massachusetts also sports perhaps the most star-studded endorsement quote line-up I’ve ever seen: praise from Roxane Gay, Min Jin Lee, Marlon James and Emma Straub crowd its cover, calling it “a revelation,” “a diamond of a memoir,” and “a wondrously crafted confessional.”

These confessional stories explore the many facets of one man’s identity with warmth and honesty, painting a fascinating picture of rough childhood escapades and tentative debauchery.įitzgerald reveals layer after layer of his life throughout the essays: growing up in a dysfunctional family ( 'My parents were married when they had me, just to different people.') his experiences with faith and the Catholic church his undying love for bars and drinking culture a stint in a BDSM porn compound how a search for purpose landed him smuggling medical supplies into Burma and his never-ending battle with body dysmorphia. Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional (2022) is a collection of biographical essays on self-discovery by Brooklyn-based writer Isaac Fitzgerald.

Dirtbag massachusetts a confessional book buy