Three of my favorite things to do in life are read, travel and laugh. So whenever I need #3, I need look no further than David Sedaris. Enter Calypso. (Little, Brown & Company, 2018). Could this man be any funnier? He’s a friend I think we all wish we had: hilarious, intelligent, eccentric, honest and just when you least expect it: tender-hearted.
I greatly admire memoirists, mainly because they possess a bravery in baring their souls that is far outside my wheelhouse. Sedaris says the things out loud the things many of us are thinking but wouldn’t dare speak, and I absolutely rejoice in being along for the ride.
But it’s not all a barrel of laughs: he touches on sad, serious topics as well, such as the ripple effects of suicide, the pain of watching our parents age, and how to navigate political differences in this divisive climate, particularly with those closest to us. But his gallows humor is never out of reach, and never disappoints.