Staff Pick
I loved this memoir. Josh goes from being a famous-in-Japan drag queen, known for his use of live goldfish as part of his costume, to living with his crack-addicted male escort boyfriend. His hilarious, self-deprecating style of writing reminds me of David Sedaris, but his unusual experiences are all his own. Recommended By Anna M., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
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 "as tart and funny as a Noel 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.'"
Review
"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.'" Booklist
Review
"[A] delicate narrative that spares not an ounce of pain but never once aims for contrition. Effortlessly entertaining yet still heartfelt; the romance of life as an escape artist." Kirkus Reviews
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"[D]arkly hilarious and entertaining....Highly Reccommended..." Library Journal
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"[P]lenty of dishy anecdotes and moments of tragi-camp delight." Washington Post Book World
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"...In a word, wonderful." Clive Barker
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"I laughed. I cried. I laughed again. I Am Not Myself These Days is tawdry and brilliantly witty." Simon Doonan
Synopsis
"A glittering, bittersweet vision of an outsider who turned himself into the life and soul of the party. Kilmer-Purcell's cast is part freak-show, part soap-opera, but his prose is graced with such insight and wit that the laughter is revelatory, and the tears--and there are tears to be shed along this extraordinary journey--are shed for people in whom everybody will find something of themselves. In a word, wonderful." -- Clive Barker
"Absolutely hilarious and heartbreaking and heartfelt." --Armistead Maupin, author of Tales of the City
The New York Times bestselling, darkly funny memoir of a young New Yorker's daring dual life--advertising art director by day, glitter-dripping drag queen and nightclub beauty-pageant hopeful by night--was a smash literary debut for Josh Kilmer-Purcell, now known for his popular Planet Green television series The Fabulous Beekman Boys. His story begins here--before the homemade goat milk soaps and hand-gathered honeys, before his memoir of the city mouse's move to the country, The Bucolic Plague--in I Am Not Myself These Days, with "plenty of dishy anecdotes and moments of tragi-camp delight" (Washington Post).
Synopsis
The New York Times bestselling, darkly funny memoirof a young New Yorker's daring dual life—advertising art director by day,glitter-dripping drag queen and nightclub beauty-pageant hopeful by night—was asmash literary debut for Josh Kilmer-Purcell, now known for his popular PlanetGreen television series The Fabulous Beekman Boys.His story begins here—before the homemade goat milk soaps and hand-gatheredhoneys, before his memoir of the city mouses move to the country, TheBucolic Plague—in I Am Not Myself These Days, with “plenty of dishy anecdotes and moments of tragi-camp delight” (WashingtonPost).
About the Author
After "retiring" from drag in 2000, Josh Kilmer-Purcell refocused on his advertising career, winning numerous awards, and is now a partner in a midsize creative advertising agency in lower Manhattan. He lives on Manhattan's Upper East Side with his partner of five years.