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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
John Garis’s The World According To JG is a memoir assembled from short pieces that began online as a way for the author to put his thoughts into words. He starts with childhood memories, then follows himself into adulthood as work repeatedly sends him in new directions. The people closest to him become increasingly important to the future he imagines. His experiences with bipolar disorder alter that course when mania disrupts his life. Treatment offers another way to understand what happened. Pop culture remains one of his favorite languages for making sense of himself, so familiar characters often become reference points for his ideas. Since the pieces were written across several years, earlier beliefs remain beside newer ones, letting readers watch his view of himself change in real time.
John Garis’s The World According To JG: Hope Edition is an exceptional memoir, and I loved how much of himself he puts into the writing. There is a genuine sweetness in the way he remembers people, such as two kindergartners at the YMCA who somehow guess his November 23 birthday between them and leave him delighted by the coincidence. He brings the same openness to mental health, describing how after his first manic episode he contacts a friend who had experienced depression and apologizes for not understanding what mental illness could do to a person before experiencing it himself. I was incredibly touched by the honesty of that admission, especially since he is so willing to put his own mistakes on the table. Well written and candid, readers who enjoy memoirs that read like a conversation with the author will embrace this.
