The Wreckage Of My Presence

Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Casey Wilson has a lot on her mind and she isn’t afraid to share. In this dazzling collection of essays, skillfully constructed and brimming with emotion, she shares her thoughts on the joys and vagaries of modern-day womanhood and motherhood, introduces the not-quite-typical family that made her who she is, and persuasively argues that lowbrow pop culture is the perfect lens through which to understand human nature.

Whether she’s extolling the virtues of eating in bed, processing the humiliation over her father’s late in life perm, or exploring her pathological need to be liked, Casey is witty, candid, and full of poignant and funny surprises. Humorous dives into her obsessions and areas of personal expertise—Scientology and self-help, nice guys, reality television shows—are matched by touching meditations on female friendship, grief, motherhood, and identity.

Reading The Wreckage of My Presence is like spending time with a close friend—a deeply passionate, full-tilt, joyous, excessive, compulsive, shameless, hungry-for-it-all, loyal, cheerleading friend. A friend who is ready for any big feeling that comes her way and isn’t afraid to embrace it.

This was one of my most-anticipated 2021 reads! I really enjoy a good essay collection, and I am a Casey Wilson fan (Happy Endings!!), so I was definitely excited to check this one out.

As I expected, this collection was so funny (I laughed out loud multiple times), but it was also sharp and insightful, and had a lot of heart. Casey Wilson’s stories felt honest and open, which I really appreciated when it came to her mental health and grief, and her love for her family, especially her mother, really came through. This was heartwarming, but also unexpectedly tugged at the heartstrings.

Casey Wilson is a delight and this was a great read that lived up to my expectations. I loved it!