A Little Crazy: A Memoir of Finding Purpose and Joy Amid the Madness
By David Magee, Bestselling author of Dear William
Escape to Create, Seaside, Florida
This is my third blog post about my friend, David Magee . . . gifted writer, speaker, and all-around wonderful person. David has spilled his guts on the page to help others heal, and that makes him a hero in my book. Let’s go back to when we first met, in October of 2009, at the annual Escape to Create writers conference in Seaside, Florida. Here’s an excerpt from my blog post from that weekend, “Attention Walmart Shoppers.”
David was adopted, and his search for his birth father is the topic of a story that he actually got a book deal for but backed out because “the time wasn’t right.” Instead, he wrote a business book (How Toyota Became Number One) and it started his career. None of his 12 published books are his “soul story,” but he says, “you can drive what’s in your soul with stories other than memoir—you can immerse yourself in any subject, golf, business, etc., and bring what drives your memoir-to-be to another topic by putting a piece of yourself into it.” Great advice for struggling memoirists who aren’t ready to put all the personal stuff out there yet.
Dear William
Boy has David ever put all the personal stuff out there since then! First with his bestselling book, Dear William, which is about his son’s death from a drug over-dose, but also about his family’s struggles, including his own infidelity, alcohol abuse, his marriage falling apart and coming back together, and his two younger children’s struggles. I wrote about this in my post from February of 2022, “A Device Through Which to Tell the Story.” An excerpt from that post:
The Education of Mr. Mayfield: An Unusual Story of Social Change at Ole Miss
First (at the Escape to Create event in Seaside, Florida) he talked about his latest book at the time: The Education of Mr. Mayfield: An Unusual Story of Social Change at Ole Miss. Mayfield was a gay, black artist in Mississippi who was invited to work as a janitor in the art department by art professor, Stuart Percy, and ended up studying under Percy in secret and eventually became a successful artist. David always wanted to write a civil rights book, but he wrote eleven other books first and he’s glad he waited because he found himself “at the right place” to write this story six years later. As he said during his presentation at Escape to Create: “The story of Mayfield and Percy isn’t really the story—it’s a device through which to tell the story.” His talk encouraged me to find the right time to write John and Mary Margaret.
A Little Crazy: A Memoir of Finding Purpose and Joy Amid the Madness
I just finished reading A Little Crazy last night. I am blown away by this book, on so many levels—personal (shared struggles,) universal (helpful to so many,) and technical (amazing writing skills.)
Personal
On the personal level, I am blown away that Kent (his amazing wife) agreed to David writing about his infidelity, their divorce, and their remarriage. So much healing. So much grace from God. And that his (living) children agreed for him to write about their issues. I’m sure I’m not the only reader who wept oceans of tears reading his candid accounts of these struggles.
Universal
David’s not the only person writing about sobriety (his) and eating disorders (his daughter’s) but these are such important issues that we need to hear over and over again. Since I have struggled and still struggle with both—alcohol and eating disorders—possibly both of which have sprung from my childhood sexual abuse and social pressure growing up in Mississippi where all girls/women are supposed to be beautiful and skinny, I can relate to so much in this amazing book, as I’m sure many other readers can.
Technical/Writing
David’s no newbie when it comes to writing skills. He cut his teeth on journalism and moved on to creative nonfiction, which I believe he was born to write. The critics must agree, as he has racked up many awards for his work.
I was sad to finish A Little Crazy . . . looking around for what book I might read next. I’ve just sent my latest anthology, Memphis Cares: Homelessness, Hunger, Mental Illness, and Incarceration, off to a press who in interested in publishing. This will be my tenth published book, if it is accepted. I wonder if I’m “done” . . . or if some of the demons I’ve chased might push me into another memoir, with David’s inspiration. Maybe I’m done. Maybe I’m tired of dealing with publishers and marketing. Maybe I just need to stop and be still and let the lessons I’ve learned sink in. Maybe.