There has been a new trend lately. Writing memoirs. That's the "cool" thing to do by celebrities and YouTubers. I see my friends reading Connor Franta's memboir, Joey Graceffa's book. Elle and Blair Fowler have a book, too! Even Trisha Paytas has a book. Like WHAAATTT??
Ok, don't get me wrong. I love a good memoir, perhaps more than most people. Key emphasis here is on the good. Like "Angela's Ashes" good or "The Glass Castle" (Jeannette Walls. My favorite memoir.) Or the amazing "The Things They Carried". There is also "Revolution is not a Dinner Party" (though technically not a memoir) about the Cultural Revolution in China. Even Lance Armstrong's memoir I can appreciate.
And furthermore, I love Connor Franta and Joey Graceffa and Trisha Paytas. Their videos are hilarious and entertaining, and I am subscribed to all of them.
HOWEVER!!!
When somebody writes a memoir, the content should be dignified. A good memoir shows a true struggle. A struggle of a half-starved and neglected child of criminal parents. A struggle of competing (which is hard enough) while battling a crippling disease! The struggle of war, with your comrades dying in an unknown, God-forsaken land. The memoir teaches about the corners of life we have no idea about. The memoir stirs something inside us and makes us think. We learn from this literature.
What is a twenty-something year old going to teach me? How hard it was to move from the Midwest to LA? Well, news flash for you, buddy: you are not the first one who did it, and you won't be the last. Sure it was rough at times, but we all went through it. That process is called "growing up". The struggle of coming to terms with your sexuality? Alright, that I can kind of understand. However, we do live in a first world nation where in a time when everything, literally everything, is much easier to deal with than ever before. And guess what? Everybody has problems! Conquering your own does not separate you from anyone else. So you expect me to spend money to waste my time reading literally nothing of value? Haha no.
Let's talk about Trisha. She has 3 books out, oh dear lord. She talks about being a stripper in her memoir(s). Like, wow. Way to go! Let's applaud this woman for taking her clothes off! Now, keep in mind, I have nothing against sex workers. You gotta do what you gotta do. I totally understand! But what I refuse to understand is why you write books about it! I can honestly say, that is an insult to literature! What a great thing to leave to the next generations: yeah, strippers write books now.
What I cannot believe is that people are actually taking these books seriously! Come on, these people have practically no experience and no talent in creative writing! Whereas when you mention the name of any other writer, a more talented writer, people draw a blank. Can't you see that what you are reading is bullcrap?! And you spend money on that shit?
Don't you see, these youtubers writing memoirs only want your money. They don't have any fascinating stories to tell! If you believe that they want to get those stories out and want to help people, you are stupid. Because if they really want to inspire us and share their stories, they would make a video. Which we could watch for free. Or put their book out for free. But they don't do that. Please, if you bought a memoir of theirs, please don't read it. Return it as soon as you can. Because you will literally waste your time and money with what they wrote. It is not worthy of you. I bet you could write a better memoir than they could. (But please use your second judgement if you actually took that idea seriously.)
