Publisher's Synopsis
Sean Gorman has lived no ordinary life. His first memoir, Until We're Strangers Again, brought readers into the unreal world of professional wrestling. His new memoir brings readers into the real world we all share. With exquisitely honest prose and a voice that is at times both biting and beautiful, Stories from the Handbasket is a different take on the classic American memoir. It recounts a particular series of events that over time paints the full and complex portrait of a lifelong outsider. Starting on page one as a rebellious teenager, Gorman seamlessly matures from adolescence to middle age in the span of just one book. In Stories from the Handbasket, Sean Gorman often presents himself in the worst possible light. Whether he's cheating to ace a class, or struggling between his morals and his libido, his chosen anecdotes about becoming a man at the turn of the century are thought-provoking, heartbreaking, and laugh-out-loud funny. With unique characters, sharp dialogue, and a literary soundtrack of hip-hop and heavy metal, the author returns with new discoveries about religion, racism, and sexuality. From the backstreets in a small town, to the classrooms of a college, to the dive bars in a big city, Sean Gorman narrates a lifelong journey that reveals how society appears when seen from its rough, outer edges. Stories of murder, infidelity, and suicide are just some of the incredibly real narratives Gorman composes to show that life at its most absurd can often teach the most valuable of lessons.
