Episode 60 - Conclusion with Rich Merritt
Listen to the amazing conclusion with author Rich Merritt as he tells more about his life and where he is today!
Episode 60
Rich Merritt's website <----- click here for more information
Buy his book <------------- click on this link to buy his book today!
posted by RambleRedhead at 11:16 AM
2 Comments:
Another great interview. I couldn't help but think about an NPR segment on books which dealt around the question whether someone had to have had a rocky childhood or history in order to write an interesting memoir. One of the people being interviewed was Augusten Burroughs ("Running with Scissors"). I don't remember the exact comments but Burroughs stated that the result of his tumultuous upbringing was that he HAD to write. It was through writing that he not only dealt with his abuse as a child but also helped him to deal with his later alcoholism.
Listening to Rich Merrett it sounds very much the same way. It was this very process of writing that helped him to get where he is today.
I don't envy these guys "exciting" lives; however, I think their stories tell us a great deal about the gay community and how we need to learn to cope with all of our compartments. (I'm very big into compartments myself.) I'm sure for every Burroughs and Merritt who are successful in overcoming these demons there are multitudes who were not successful. Perhaps Rich is right, perhaps part of this comes from not going through the whole natural dating thing as teen agers and we develop these horrible self image and identity issues.
At any rate, it's great to hear about someone who has overcome this and looks forward to the future.
The three-part interview format worked well for Rich Merritt's story. All interviews were informatively and sensitively conducted; and I especially appreciated the non-judgmental discussion about porn. Having previously read the book, it was good to put Rich's voice to his words. The bonus is learning about events subsequent to the end of the book.
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