A review by kurtwombat
Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer

emotional funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

 
As a fan of the humor podcast HOW DID THIS GET MADE, I’ve been waiting years for this book to manifest. Some of the podcast’s best moments are when it swerves off track because Paul Scheer suddenly remembers and shares one of these absurd but true childhood stories. Audiences and cohosts alike freeze in a kind of shock as these stories are casually rolled out—as if they were just  like anyone else’s childhood memories. From his grandmother telling him that he might be cooked and eaten if he forgets to lock the door again to Christopher Walken agreeing to meet him as a child only if his father was not present—there are some eye openers here. Woven around the humorous stories are the abusive tales involving his step father including he and his mom finally making their escape. Blending the two narratives makes a kind of surreal landscape where anything seems possible. 
 
Such childhoods are a breeding ground for a life in comedy. From my own experience I know how personal trauma can be turned into material—humor helps build in a protective distance. Also, there is a certain clinical approach involved when you are translating it from one form to another. Intentionally or not one often presents the story with a kind of smooth polish that isn’t there in real life—another benefit to sharing and/or reimagining trauma. 
 
I can see this not being for everyone. It helps to have a connection to Paul Scheer or similar stories of your own to see these stories as funny and not simply tragic. It probably also helps to listen to the audiobook version as I did—hearing the author’s voice kind of gives you permission to take this as the author intended