Comments on Girl's Gone Child: Pictures of the Gone World

I agree with this. I was born, grew up, went to h...

2010-09-07T15:46:48.708-07:00

I agree with this. I was born, grew up, went to high school, and met my husband all in the same town. We moved away, grew apart, grew back together, and I think about home sometimes. I just . . . I long for it, you know? That lack of responsibility, that tank full of reckless. I miss that boy, and even though I watched him grow up, sometimes I don't know this man that I love with.
There are songs I hear that tear me up inside and there is that instant of vertigo of "omfg where am I?" and it take me an instant to recover me - it's not Senior year anymore and we're not sneaking off to go have sex in the back seat.
The same can be said for our split history. In our time apart, a lot happened here (where we live now) and I hate living in the middle of the reminders. I see his ex-girlfriend sometimes and I alternate between wanting to punch him and punch her.

I take the long way and rock out to cds, and try to avoid those memories. I like knowing which me I am, you know?

Ha! Vice Magazine. And: mmm, mmm. I dare to dre...

2010-06-30T18:13:33.905-07:00

Ha! Vice Magazine.

And: mmm, mmm. I dare to dream of the day when I might leave the corners of my terrible twenties, teeming with ghosts of former selves, draped in costumes of hilarity and sometimes horror, I dare.

I'm with you, sugar. It's good to begone.

(It's also good to remember, but then, I'm older than you. I get to say things like that with [near]impunity. I'm audacious in my elderliness.)

You're such a gorgeous, spirited dame.

How do you do it? You always manage to read my m...

2009-08-14T22:44:57.162-07:00

How do you do it?

You always manage to read my mind.

Your words, perfectly put into understanding, why I avoid the radio. Any song from the past will trigger the me who I used to be.

Your writing is perfect, I cannot get enough of it. You are really something. Really something.

i didnt know anyone could feel exacly the same way...

2009-01-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

i didnt know anyone could feel exacly the same way i do. echo park silverlake and hollywood always make me think of the old me. the cool me.

I don't know who Lawrence Ferlinghetti is, but he ...

2008-12-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

I don't know who Lawrence Ferlinghetti is, but he sounds like an asshat. You're much more than any girl he could ever conceive of.

Apropos of nothing except the fact that his poem referenced Cocteau: my uncle-in-law was Cocteau's lifetime lover. I think that's my family's only real claim to fame.

Hmmmmm, very poignant. Perhaps this is why Bossy's...

2008-12-26T19:09:00.000-08:00

Hmmmmm, very poignant. Perhaps this is why Bossy's instinct was to leave the city... even though she's been asking herself, "WHY?" nearly every day since.

Sure wish you could remember the song. Just curious.

This is so beautiful and catches my heart in a fis...

2008-12-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

This is so beautiful and catches my heart in a fist but it doesn't hurt too much - it just moves me. I love it.
You are such a good writer.
G.

You have such a magial way with words. I grew up i...

2008-12-24T08:09:00.000-08:00

You have such a magial way with words. I grew up in NJ, went to college in Boston and am now in RI. I often long to go back to both but I realize often that I romanticize those places and that being back there isn't going to do anything for me and my family. This post is a great reminder of why I'm staying put. Thanks and happy holidays =)

It's only about time that I post a comment here --...

2008-12-23T15:39:00.000-08:00

It's only about time that I post a comment here -- after all, we're both Seal authors, and I'm FINALLY reading your book (it's about time!!).

Get this: I'm Rachel, and my sister is Rebecca.

And my whole life, relatives have mixed us up. Just yesterday, my dad called me "Rebecca" again. (He has had 30+ years practice... oh Dad.)

Happy, happy!

thnks

2008-12-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

thnks

2008-12-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

thnks

I just found your blog today and this post really ...

2008-12-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

I just found your blog today and this post really hit home. My husband and I often talk about moving back to where I grew up (and someday we will, I stand to inherit my childhood home) but I'm afraid of all the ghosts still lingering around the town, including most of the people who knew me 10-15 years ago.

just... yes! yes yes. i've been mulling a post lik...

2008-12-20T15:13:00.000-08:00

just... yes! yes yes. i've been mulling a post like this myself (but my blog is down at the moment...grrr). ditto to everything.

Whenever I go back to my hometown it's like going ...

2008-12-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

Whenever I go back to my hometown it's like going back in time. And mostly not in a good way, in kind of a depressing way. I don't know if I could ever actually live there.

you make me feel brave.

2008-12-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

you make me feel brave.

That's just Vice Magazine. Chris (friend who wrote...

2008-12-19T17:20:00.000-08:00

That's just Vice Magazine. Chris (friend who wrote the piece) gets that kind of response... but it's all in good fun. He's beloved.

first of all, you are prettier now than you were t...

2008-12-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

first of all, you are prettier now than you were then so that has to mean something. this new life is good for your face :)

second, i thought the crips article was pretty funny and am really confused by all the bad comments.

I am currently living in the home I grew up in. M...

2008-12-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

I am currently living in the home I grew up in. My sons attend my elementary school. I must live here to take care of aging sick parents. Since my brothers refused, I feel I must be the daughter they deserve. But man. My past keeps sneaking up on me and smacking me in the face. I'm not that person anymore. But oh so many stupid decisions. I'm not that person anymore.

What a wonderfully written post. I feel that way s...

2008-12-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

What a wonderfully written post. I feel that way sometimes and I don't even live in the place where all my drama occurred. I live close enough to it, though, that I visit there a lot. Lots of memories. Lots of good and bad times.

My college friends have begged me for 10 years to ...

2008-12-19T13:03:00.000-08:00

My college friends have begged me for 10 years to move back to the city where we went to school and where they now make their lives.

How can I explain that I can't keep seeing the places where I had the most amazing sex, had the insanely hopeful dreams of a teenager in love on a homemade loft, the failure of relationship after relationship, the sinking depression I could not yet understand, driving myself in my studies and punishing myself when I got a bad grade, the growing that resulted, the girl left further and further behind...

"We wish you were here" they say.

"I am there" I want to tell them. Little pieces of me are all over the place... I just prefer to visit the me that I left behind. I'm not her anymore, but I love her from afar.

Thank you for your writing. Thank you.

I found your blog a few months ago and have been f...

2008-12-19T10:42:00.000-08:00

I found your blog a few months ago and have been following your blog since. This post made me cry. I thought there must me something wrong with me as a mother to feel nostalgic for the times when I drank till I blacked out, did drugs in bathrooms and then went back for one night standers in the same stall. Thanks for making me feel not alone. And to feel more grateful for what I've gained from the perceived loss of my youth.

Thank you for this beautifully written post. I ju...

2008-12-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

Thank you for this beautifully written post. I just found your blog not too long ago and am quickly becoming a groupie. Too often I complain about being away from "home", thank you opening my eyes. There ARE a few good things about being in a land far, far away.

I could have written this post as well. I grew up...

2008-12-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

I could have written this post as well. I grew up in Detroit. A wild child. Out every night. Drugs, parties, one night dirty stand in old motels. I cringe when I think of some of the moments, yet get nostalgic for some as well. Even now when I go out on a rare night with single friends I feel the urge to do the bathroom ski again. But then I think of the beautiful baby I have at home and the thought rushes away. It's really just abotu growing up and moving on. We cherish the old days yet can look forward to the future. By the way, the song I was listening to the other day that brought back the memories was Close to Me, by the Cure. "just try to see in the dark
just try to make it work
to feel the fear before you're here"

So beautifully written and stated. You speak to m...

2008-12-19T09:14:00.000-08:00

So beautifully written and stated. You speak to my heart so often. It is amazing really. Do you know me? I just recently moved back to my old stomping grounds with hubby and our three girls. I have come face to face with a lot of memories and people that I could just as soon never see or remember again, but I kind of feel like I am growing from it too. Like I can be the bigger person now. Thankyou for being the great writer that you are.

I also find myself saying, "Hey! Me too!" after I ...

2008-12-19T08:53:00.000-08:00

I also find myself saying, "Hey! Me too!" after I read one of your posts. You have articulated exactly why I want to leave my home town far better than I ever could have. I'm impressed , as usual, with your writing style. Thanks!