I love reading true-life books. I think it's the whole nosey side of me. I love watching films about true stories. Again, I think this is the nosey side of me that makes them so enjoyable for. Its the part of me that make me read blogs after all!
But it has to stop.
I'm currently reading Stuart: A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters.
It's about a guy called Stuart Shorter who, after various ups and downs I don't want to go into, ended up homeless and on drugs.
He meets Alexander Masters, the author, and they discuss writing his life story. Masters gives Shorter the first draft and he hates it. He suggest that he writes it backwards. Start with his life now and work back to his childhood. "It's bollocks boring!" he tells Alexander. Stuart doesn't like the references to research and quotes from professionals. He'd rather it told his life in words he and his peers would understand. "Do it the other way round. Make it more like a murder mystery. What murdered the boy I was? See? Write it backwards."
So he does, and at the end of the third page I'm already in tears. Since then I've been on a roller coaster of emotions thanks to Stuart's dramatic and sometime harrowing life (how awful do I feel saying thanks for that?!) and also thanks to Alexander Masters and the way he describes what is going on. He's quite honest at times. Such as when Stuart is talking too much Alex comments that he wishes he'd shut up. There are other times he's blunt about his feelings towards Stuart and it's this honesty that makes the book utterly fantastic.
The problem arises when I put it down for a break. I start to think.
I start to think about my life and what I do with it. Would you like to know what I did yesterday? When I got out of bed I sat in the lounge with my computer on my lap and I only moved three times. Once to pee, once to cook dinner and then to go to bed. I didn't do anything particularly constructive.
But I could have.
I could do so much more than I actually do and I think it's about time I did. I don't know what yet. Stupidly I've toyed with the idea of trying to set up some kind of drop-in centre or soup kitchen but I think I'm setting my sights a little too high but it's something to work on I suppose. I imagine I'll end up volunteering for a worthy charity. I hope they're worthy anyway! I feel I am one of the privileged few to have a great relationship, live in a fantastic county in a nice house, have a job I enjoy (most of the time) and have a great circle of friends. I'm honoured that I'm a part of this peer group but I'm saddened that I don't do enough for those who aren't. So, as I've said, I'm going to do something about it.
Suggestions are, as always, welcome.
