Books › A list of things that didn't kill me
A list of things that didn't kill me
421 pages
A darkly witty and brutally honest memoir about surviving a chaotic, secretive childhood and searching for a moral compass in the wreckage.
What it feels like
Reading this memoir feels like navigating a minefield alongside a surprisingly funny guide. The narrative moves at a brisk, intense pace, plunging the reader into a chaotic world defined by dangerous secrets, severe family dysfunction, and the constant threat of discovery. Despite the heavy subject matter—which includes addiction, abuse, and illness—the tone remains remarkably resilient, pierced by unexpected wit and brutal honesty. The mood is tense and secretive, reflecting the deep isolation of hiding a turbulent home life from the outside world. The prose is sharp and unflinching, balancing dark realities with moments of dark comedy. It is a deeply affecting experience for anyone drawn to memoirs about surviving profound trauma and the difficult journey of forging a personal moral center when the adults around you have none.
- Mood
- tense
- chaotic
- secretive
- heavy
- Tone
- brutally honest
- darkly comedic
- witty
- disturbing
- reflective
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- surviving dysfunction · finding a moral center · the burden of secrets · navigating trauma
- The writing
- Brutally insightful and unexpectedly witty, balancing dark realities with sharp, unflinching humor.
- The arc
- Moves from chaotic, secretive survival to a search for a personal moral center amidst profound dysfunction.
- Who it's for
- Readers who appreciate darkly funny, unflinching memoirs about surviving extreme family dysfunction and trauma.
Content notes
- drug addiction
- family violence
- sexual abuse
- physical and emotional abuse
- chronic illness (HIV)
- blood and gore
About the book
Jason Schmidt wasn't surprised when he came home one day during his junior year of high school and found his father, Mark, crawling around in a giant pool of blood. Things like that had been happening a lot since Mark had been diagnosed with HIV, three years earlier. Jason's life with Mark was full of secrets--about drugs, crime, and sex. If the straights--people with normal lives--ever found out any of those secrets, the police would come. Jason's home would be torn apart. So the rule, since Jason had been in preschool, was never to tell the straights anything. A List of Things That Didn't Kill Me is a funny, disturbing memoir full of brutal insights and unexpected wit that explores the question: How do you find your moral center in a world that doesn't seem to have one?
Description from Open Library.
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