“Attempting Normal” by Marc Maron – The Dark lines of Life

Those of you who have heard of Marc Maron probably know him as the host of WTF with Marc Maron, his own podcast show. Though it may seem to you that he lives a plentiful life while practicing a number of hobbies and just being himself, not too long ago Marc Maron faced a very specific set of circumstances that would make most people curl up in the fetal position and cry, and Attempting Normal is his autobiography in regards to the darkest time of his life.

What exactly did he have to endure? Well, on a day like any other he woke up, only to discover he had been fired from the radio job he loved so much, on top of which the woman he though loved him all this time was divorcing him and syphoning all his money away. In other words, he was devastated financially, emotionally, and psychologically.

The book is basically about what how he handled such adversity, though it basically boiled down to trying out a large number of eccentric hobbies, such as cat fancying, pretending to fly airplanes, and becoming addicted to Viagra. Though the book is filled with Maron’s trademark original and honest sense of humor, in my opinion, it wasn't the highlight of it all. Instead, it was the harrowing mental journey Marc went through that steals the show. 

As I said before, such a set of circumstances is one that would make many less resilient people fold in half, and learning how he dealt with it is a thing of beauty. He managed to find lessons, hope and wisdom in the most unlikely places of all, looking at failure as an opportunity to learn and a temporary inconvenience at worst.

All in all, the path traveled by Marc Maron from madness and desperation towards hope and normalcy is definitely one worth being chronicled and read throughout the ages, not only because it’s actually a pleasure to read, but because it contains advice each and every one of us could use. If you want to learn more about the life of Marc Maron or are simply looking for a fun and uplifting read, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

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Marc Maron  Personal site Marc Maron is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcast host for The Marc Maron Show. Though most of his career has been focused towards television work, it never stifled his passion for literature, leading him to publish The Jerusalem Syndrome in 2001 and Attempting Normal in 2013.