Excuse Me While I Slip into Someone More Comfortable: A Memoir

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“Eric Poole’s journey of self-delusion and self-discovery had me laughing one minute, crying the next, and rooting for him every second.” —George Takei
 
In 1977, Eric Poole is a talented high school trumpet player with one working ear, the height-to-weight ratio of a hat rack, a series of annoyingly handsome bullies, and a mother irrationally devoted to Lemon Pledge. But who he wants to be is a star . . . ANY star. With equal parts imagination, flair, and delusion, Eric proceeds to emulate a series of his favorite celebrities, like Barry Manilow, Halston, Tommy Tune, and Shirley MacLaine, in an effort to become the man he’s meant to be—that is, anyone but himself.
 
As he moves through his late teens and early twenties in suburban St. Louis, he casts about for an appropriate outlet for his talents. Will he be a trumpet soloist? A triple-threat actor/singer/dancer? A fashion designer in gritty New York City?
 
Striving to become the son who can finally make his parents proud, Eric begins to suspect that discovering his personal and creative identities can only be accomplished by admitting who he really is. Picking up at the end of his first acclaimed memoir, Where’s My Wand?, Poole’s journey from self-delusion to acceptance is simultaneously hysterical, heartfelt, and inspiring.
 
“A touching and RIOTOUSLY funny story about one boy’s search for his personal and creative identities in the 1980’s Midwest. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll keep your jazz hands to yourself, Mister.” —Judith Newman, author of To Siri with Love