Dark at the Roots: A Memoir
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As a middle child raised middle class and stuck out in the middle of Louisiana, hilarious writer and actress Sarah Thyre often found her in-between existence far less than desirable. Even from a young age, Sarah found ways of shirking her own hated identity — whether by stealing someone else's or lying about her own. She changed her name, claimed to be a great outdoorsman, and solicited donations for her favorite charity — which turned out to be, in fact, her. In addition, Sarah lived through the violent struggles between her parents and their often troubled finances, and the stories with which she emerged populate this charming memoir. Publishers Weekly Thyre, an actress, fashions a somewhat flat memoir about growing up in the middle-class South of the 1970s. Corny and unfocused, her work ambles episodically, from the early years living with her parents and younger sisters in Kansas City, Mo., where her mother took turns holding the Catholic Prayer Group at their house and mixing up the martinis for Father Don, to their move to the sticks of Louisiana and celebrating their hostile parents' eventual divorce. Thyre as the young narrator is a kid with moxie, known as the "liar in the family" and not above correcting her teacher's grammar. The memoir proceeds by anecdotes (stealing money from their skinflint father's bank account for camp and vacation, managing her asthma medication, watching her mom run over a turtle with the lawn mower, losing her virginity to Tommy Cusimano after her Our Lady of Prompt Succor's Autumn Celebration), but Thyre's writing lacks a cohesion determined by strong, memorable characterization. There are, however, many iconic '70s moments, e.g., listening to "Little Willy" on her mother's Gremlin AM radio, learning about rape from a Barnaby JonesTV episode, reading Paul Zindel books; and experiencing her sexual awakening while watching Looking for Mr. Goodbar. Packed with dippy dialogue and only a little raunchy and irreverent, Thyre's work amuses in small doses. (Apr.)Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
This Is What People Do 1Break Me Off a Piece o' Dat 13Smell It Like It Is 29Git in the Truck 43What Would Mr. Goodbar Do? 61Oh the Places You'll Go 77The Hills Are a Lie 79Choke 95Rubbing Alcohol and Vaseline 113Underground Railroad 127The Center Cannot Hold 145Top o' the Food Chain 165Movin' on Up 187Misty Popularity 211Creamin' in My Jeans 233The Bad Seed 261Say Uncle 281Acknowledgments 309
