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I Am Not Myself These Days: A Memoir Audiobook
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(3.01) - 5,249 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
I Am Not Myself These Days follows a glittering journey through Manhattan's dark underbelly—a shocking and surreal world where alter egos reign and subsist (barely) on dark wit and chemicals...a tragic romantic comedy where one begins by rooting for the survival of the relationship and ends by hoping someone simply survives. Kilmer-Purcell is a terrifically gifted new literary voice who straddles the divide between absurdity and normalcy, and stitches them together with surprising humor and lonely poignancy. As Booklist raved, I Am Not Myself These Days is "as tart and funny as a Noël Coward play, for Kilmer-Purcell is especially good at dialogue, and, as in Coward's best plays, under the comedy lies the sad truth that even at our best, we are all weak, fallible fools. Again and again in this rich, adventure-filled book, Kilmer-Purcell illustrates the truth of Blake's proverb, 'The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.'"
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"Loved this book. Loved every page and couldn't stop reading. I knew nothing about drag queens or paid prostitution, so this book opened up a weirdly fascinating, beyond bizarre world for me. And Kilmer-Purcell presents this craziness that is his life, in a most hilarious manner. The Candy Man scene (I don't want to give anything away, so that's all you're getting) has to be one of my all time favorite scenes to date. I laughed so hard I think I lost weight. Thank you Josh for sharing yourself with us."
— Niki (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“[Listeners] will find this tale of good-boy-turned-bad-drag-queen darkly hilarious and entertaining.”
— Library Journal -
As tart and funny as a Noël Coward play.
— Booklist -
“As tart and funny as a Noël Coward play.”
— Booklist -
“A wonderful book, a ridiculous book, a sad and beautiful book, a book I’ll read again, a book I highly recommend.”
— James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces
I Am Not Myself These Days Listener Reviews
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" Okay, so it's not great literature, but it is a wild read, a guilty pleasure, and if you love drag queens (as I seem to do), it is an absorbing voyeuristic journey through the dark side of that life. It gets a little sordid/squalid midway through, but the beginning and end are worth it. "
— Valerie, 2/19/2014 -
" I love the Fabulous Beekman Boys, and I wanted to love this book. It just wasn't very well written. "
— Amanda, 2/17/2014 -
" I loved this book. I love Josh's writing style and sense of humor. I fell in love with him in this book and totally think he should be my best friend. "
— Maggie, 2/14/2014 -
" Autobiography of a drag queen by night / advertising exec by day. Hilarious and interesting. "
— Amanda, 1/31/2014 -
" One of the best books I have read in a long time. Heartbreaking, and hysterical. "
— Nichole, 1/26/2014 -
" Josh's life gets so fucked up it makes me feel good about mine by comparason. every few months or so I need a book like this to make me not feel so bad. "
— Erin, 1/19/2014 -
" i enjoyed this because his life is so far removed from my own. I simply have no drag queens, crack heads, call boys or alcoholics in my life at the moment, so I have Josh Kilmer-Purcell to thank for introducing me to the ones in his. "
— tee, 1/18/2014 -
" I needed to finish this book the minute I started it! Intriguing and insightful into a world very unknown to me. About a drag queen in New York. Very unexpected and spectacular! "
— Chantelle, 12/17/2013 -
" Now *this* is a misspent youth. The characters are such train wrecks but you find yourself pulling for them. "
— Rachel, 10/24/2013 -
" I practically read this in one sitting! Bitter sweet and over the top. "
— Lori, 10/22/2013 -
" A really interesting read. Tugs at your emotional side, and before you realize it, you're rooting for happiness to be found in the strangest of situations. "
— Karen, 10/21/2013 -
" I thought it would be funnier. I learned a little more about the life of a gay man in a big city than I wanted to know. Still hopeful for his other book "Bucolic Plague". "
— Monica, 4/15/2013 -
" Intensely readable. At times hilarious and at times heartwrenchingly sad. "
— Katie, 3/18/2013 -
" Assumed I would like this book but it just was not captivating. "
— Caroline, 12/18/2012 -
" Great book - it was funny, sad, and everything in between. Definitely made me appreciate how complicated it is for a drag queen to get ready! "
— Stacey, 12/17/2012 -
" I have no idea why but I love this book. Short(ish), well written, hilarious and I now wish Josh was my co worker. Or maybe worked in my building so we could have lunch every day. "
— Pamela, 11/12/2012 -
" Very funny in an incredibly sad way. "
— Kristen, 10/4/2012 -
" A drag queen who dates a crack whore with a heart of gold? Its like candy. :) "
— Amy, 4/5/2012 -
" Wow! This book seriously made me laugh while I was crying. I have recommended this bookmto everyone from soccer moms to club queens and they have all loved it. "
— Vince, 3/19/2012 -
" I love this book he's my favorite author very funny and a little sad. I lent it to my friends and they all LOVED it! "
— Rachel, 12/13/2011 -
" alcoholic drag queen + crack-addicted man-whore = entertainment and disaster. "
— Zina, 12/6/2011 -
" I read this as part of a book club. . . . it was a TRIP! "
— Stacy, 10/24/2011 -
" Probably not for everyone, but I loved it. Sure glad he's with Brett now, though. "
— Jennifer, 9/15/2011 -
" This book is like "Dry" by Augusten Burroughs...still entertaining though. I doubt I'll learn much from this book. Unless I want to be a drag queen. "
— Jody, 8/29/2011 -
" This story is hilarious and amazing. The prose is beautiful and easy to read even if the story sometimes is cringe worthy. The story of Aqua is so engrossing you will not want to put it down and will be sad to know it is ending. "
— J.E.W., 6/21/2011 -
" Loved this book! Gives a funny, honest, first-hand look at drag culture in NYC. You can't help but love Aqua and her goldfish :-) "
— Laci, 6/12/2011 -
" Love it so far...but I do have an affliction for gay male memoirists. No idea why, but they make me laugh! "
— Amy, 6/8/2011 -
" What part of an auto-biography about a drunk drag queen is not hilariously amazing?? "
— Leslie, 6/2/2011 -
" Best book I have ever read. "
— Carson, 5/29/2011 -
" This is a great book and he is such a good writer... "
— Michelle, 5/29/2011 -
" I just reread this for the 2nd time. It's a wonderful book. Sad, funny, and insightful. "
— Joey, 5/28/2011 -
" I thought it would be funnier. I learned a little more about the life of a gay man in a big city than I wanted to know. Still hopeful for his other book "Bucolic Plague". "
— Monica, 5/23/2011 -
" I enjoy the "escape" aspect of reading. This book really brought me into a world I knew nothing about... "
— Donna, 5/15/2011 -
" Ending didn't wrap up as nicely as I would have liked. I would prefer more details about the situation resolution especially since it is a memior.<br/><br/>Quick read. Text was fast paced and humorous. "
— Diane, 5/12/2011 -
" Didn't find it as compelling as Bucolic Plague but it did bring me back to my own wild NYC days back in the 80s and early 90s. Crazy, fun times! "
— Grace, 5/9/2011 -
" Heartbreaking and funny, all in one. "
— Janelle, 5/9/2011
About Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Josh Kilmer-Purcell is the bestselling author of the memoir I Am Not Myself These Days and the novel Candy Everybody Wants, and the star of Planet Green’s documentary television series The Fabulous Beekman Boys. He and his partner, Brent Ridge, divide their time between Manhattan and the Beekman Farm.
About Johnny Heller
Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.