And Yet There Are No Demons: James Gandolfini Edition
Demons, et cetera. Plus: Ada Limón. Emily Gould. Megan Koester. Rumi. The long slog of recovery that keeps me alive.
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Sunday! It’s here.
A few articles about a semi-trashy new book written by a man who worked on the set of “The Sopranos” made some former cast members very angry due to its numerous stories about James Gandolfini’s…demons.
Most of the headlines from wire services blasted out last week looked like this:
'Sopranos' star James Gandolfini swam in the ocean after drinking as troubled actor battled demons off set.’
This wasn’t new news to many people—do a quick Google search about Gandolfini’s divorce in 2002, and you’ll find there was a history there, including a failed 28-day rehab stint. So he suffered for a long time. But we also find out that in 2013, just a day after he was found dead in a bathroom in Rome, some outlets confusingly celebrated how he “overcame his demons.” Christ.
This type of coverage is maddening, and it happens all the time. We saw it recently with Matthew Perry — who “couldn’t quell his personal demons” despite his best efforts.
Before him, it was Anthony Bourdain who faced his demons but eventually lost to them.
And then there was doomed Amy Winehouse —“The Diva and Her Demons.”
And Sinead O’Connor — “battled her mental health demons” forever, it felt like.
None of these people, for the record, were eaten by demons. They suffered from various types of mood and substance use disorders, but we still live in a world that either doesn’t see them as real or as moral failings of the selfish and the damned.
There are plenty of people who can party successfully without ever facing/succumbing to a demon. But asking for treatment, finding a treatment plan, and sticking with it requires a lifetime of embarrassing and demoralizing self-work. I don’t understand the constant minimizing, but I actually do because I used to write this shit for a living, sometimes high as a dog.
But compassion works wonders. Keep up the fight.
Anyway, all the Sunday extra recovery rundown, an illustration of Ben Affleck smoking, and book recs are after the jump.
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