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A review by jeremyhornik
Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn't Stop Praying (Among Other Things) by Abby Sher
5.0
I really liked this book. I plowed right through it in two sittings, couldn't really put it down. Stayed up too late to finish it, and now have to write a bit before I'll be able to sleep.
It's quite good. She vividly evokes that feeling of responsibility you get when you just feel responsible for things that are clearly out of your control. The whole thing reads a bit like a thriller... she is so often just barely on the edge of control, and you read headlong with this sick feeling of fear for what might happen. And it's funny, too.
There's this whole second level to my reading it, though, which most people won't have. See, I knew Abby. I know her best from improv circles, and then directing her in a show that briefly merits a mention halfway through the book (the one where she plays the bearded lady.) At the time, I found her talented and extremely interesting, and really was happy that she was in the play. It was much better for her having been in it. I had no idea that she was afflicted with OCD. Reading this now... it's not so much like, "I'm dumb... how could I have missed it." It's more like, here, at this one point in my life, was this person who I barely knew but found really talented and interesting. And now, fifteen years later, I discover this whole massive book all about who she was... where she came from, what she was going through, and who she became. And the funny thing is I think I always wanted to know. I am a nosy bastard by inclination, and since I think this is basically a weakness, I try hard to respect the walls of privacy people put up around themselves. This is like some kind of crazy gift that I can't imagine how it ever got to me.
This is a good book even if you didn't ever direct Abby Sher in a show where she plays a bearded lady. But that improves it.
It's quite good. She vividly evokes that feeling of responsibility you get when you just feel responsible for things that are clearly out of your control. The whole thing reads a bit like a thriller... she is so often just barely on the edge of control, and you read headlong with this sick feeling of fear for what might happen. And it's funny, too.
There's this whole second level to my reading it, though, which most people won't have. See, I knew Abby. I know her best from improv circles, and then directing her in a show that briefly merits a mention halfway through the book (the one where she plays the bearded lady.) At the time, I found her talented and extremely interesting, and really was happy that she was in the play. It was much better for her having been in it. I had no idea that she was afflicted with OCD. Reading this now... it's not so much like, "I'm dumb... how could I have missed it." It's more like, here, at this one point in my life, was this person who I barely knew but found really talented and interesting. And now, fifteen years later, I discover this whole massive book all about who she was... where she came from, what she was going through, and who she became. And the funny thing is I think I always wanted to know. I am a nosy bastard by inclination, and since I think this is basically a weakness, I try hard to respect the walls of privacy people put up around themselves. This is like some kind of crazy gift that I can't imagine how it ever got to me.
This is a good book even if you didn't ever direct Abby Sher in a show where she plays a bearded lady. But that improves it.