Dear Diary by Lesley Arfin

Product Details

Synopsis

Elizabeth Wurtzel meets Sarah Silverman in this darkly humorous look back on adolescence and young adulthood from the popular Vice Magazine columnist. Juxtaposing more than ten years of diary entries against updates and interviews with the subjects of the entries-from former best friends to enemies, crushes to boyfriends-Lesley Arfin comes to realize maybe her life wasn't exactly as she had written it. When she wrote about Cynthia Karacas (it's funny how you remember everyone's first and last name like that) making her feel "retarded" in 10th grade, the world was a dark, lonely place and she could see no light at the end of the tunnel. When she discovered heroin things got even worse. Today, with the perspective that only rock bottom can give you, Lesley looks back at the apocalypse that was adolescence and asks, "What the hell was I talking about?" Lesley's hilarious updates remind us how heavy it all seemed back then and how irrelevant it all really is in the face of adulthood. When she digs up all her old friends and enemies to get their take on each entry, a whole new perspective is added. Some are eager to apologize while others are still mad because, "Let's face it, you were a loser." No matter who she talks to about the days we all discovered sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll, one thing is abundantly clear: we were ridiculous.

Biography

Lesley Arfin was born in Long Island, New York, in 1978. After a few botched attempts at academia she settled on writing, or, more specifically, writing a regular "Dear Diary" column for Vice Magazine beginning in 2002. The column was an instant success, giving Vice a much-needed "chick angle," and launching Arfin's writing career. She has since gone on to write for a variety of other magazines including Jane, Nylon, and i-D. DEAR DIARY is her first book.