Inside the Mind of Tom McAllister: Unraveling 42 Years of Life’s Most Impossible Moments
While I mostly saw my son in the early essays, I saw myself in the other half, not just because I am roughly the same age as McAllister, but because of how he writes about aging.
“The choices you make when you’re a teenager matter in a way you cannot possibly imagine, no matter how often adults warn you about it. You can pretend not to understand the math, but it all adds up, with or without your permission.”
He shows both how aging presents itself in his body: “You do stupid things and 20 years later your body lives with the consequences, the aching knees and the creaky neck and damaged heart…The ghosts live inside your bad bones.” And the different ways he wrestles with trying to quit habits he knows are unhealthy: “I am typing this and thinking about going down to have a beer. It’s Thursday. I have just finished the first week of a new semester. Without a drink the night is long and dull. With a drink, at least you can look forward to the next drink.”
