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120 Seats in a Boiler Room
Lewis Kempfer’s storytelling is incredible. How the author chronicles his early days, relations with friends, the family encounters as an adult, and everything in between is thrilling. In 120 Seats in a Boiler Room: The Creation of a Courageous Professional Theater, Lewis Kempfer narrates his and others’ stories about this beautiful theater in Nashville, how it came to be, and the impact it had on the community.
The author’s storytelling aside, this book is an exciting read because of how descriptive Lewis Kempfer is when recounting events, locations, objects and even people. You get the real picture just by reading the text and get the appeal of being part of the story. This exciting book will inspire individuals in the arts and those who dream of owning a theater or something similar.
In the book, the reader is transported to Nashville. There is a rundown boiler room filled with waste and unpleasantness. What to do with this boiler room? Enter four ambitious friends who could use the boiler room for something else. Lewis Kempfer and his buddies have a theater company looking into making this boiler room a theater. Converting this old, unused boiler room into something locals would treasure was beautiful. I enjoyed reading about the strategies the friends took, the brainstorming process, completing the whole thing, and how it served the people.
This fascinating book reads like a memoir, except it is not your typical memoir, as the author shares vital tips and also has guest authors chip in to tell the story. One moves from enjoying Lewis Kempfer’s personal stories to reading the how-to guides he shares to engaging with the letters to the editor. I appreciate having other individuals tell tales from their perspective, as it balances the author’s narration.
120 Seats in a Boiler Room is unique, the storytelling and narration are remarkable, but the lessons readers will take from this book are invaluable. Sharing lessons on subjects like learning audience demographics, casting, licensing, production, media and public relations, staffing, and other crucial matters are all included. This is an entertaining book for readers that love semi-autobiographies fused with how-to guides.
Pages: 418 | ASIN : B0BDKPG6JX
Two Powerful Addictions
Don’t Mind Me, I’m Just Having a Bad Life is an emotional and engrossing memoir of your life. Why was this an important book for you to write?
My entire life I’ve been depressed and often referred to as a “sad sack.” I wanted to tell my story of two powerful addictions and recovering from them, but I wanted to follow the trail back to when the problems began. I didn’t expect to go back to age 4 as the first time I felt depressed and worthless. From there, the problems just snowballed through psychological abuse, self-esteem issues, broken relationships, and finally to sex and Crystal meth addiction.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to share in this memoir?
I was nervous about sharing the drug addiction as very few people knew I was going through that. As I state in the book, my employer, Disney, had no suspicions whatsoever. It was quite a feat to be a hardcore user and keep my job. I’m ashamed of myself for becoming an addict, but like the childhood abuse, I feel it was thrust upon me. And in the case with meth, it’s perhaps the most addictive drug and it truly only takes one hit to be hooked.
What do you hope is one thing that readers take away from your book?
I hope that readers will find hope in my story that recovery is possible. Yes, faith played a major role in my recovery, but as I tried to make clear, I was on a hit-or-miss basis with God my entire life. Some readers felt that my quitting meth cold turkey with God’s help made the book too “Jesus-y.” And that has been a turnoff for some LGBTQ readers. Conversely, Christian readers have been offended by the gay content. Apart from these two opposing camps, I just wanted to share hope.
What is a piece of advice you wish someone had given you when you were younger?
I was given plenty of advice throughout my life like, “stop being depressed,” “just believe in yourself,” “have confidence,” “stop being so negative,” and so forth. What I wish I had been told was that none of the bad stuff in my childhood was my fault. Perhaps my story would not have included self-hatred, suicidal thoughts, and addiction.
Author Links: Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website
Lewis Kempfer nearly destroyed himself searching for something that would make him happy. His battle with self-hatred began with physical and psychological abuse from the trusted male adults in his life and continued into adulthood when the church rejected him for being gay. Traumatized and suicidal, his only salvation came from getting himself on stage.
Moving from city to city in search of fame and love, he lands in the dog-eat-dog-world of Hollywood showbiz. But a terrifying diagnosis casts a dark shadow on a promising Tinseltown career, and he falls into a downward spiral of dangerous liaisons and hardcore drug addiction. It will take a near-death overdose in his blackest hour to find strength from the last place he ever expected…
“Don’t Mind Me, I’m Just Having a Bad Life” is a raw, rapid-fire account of one man’s frightening journey to self-acceptance. From dicey sex clubs to crystal meth motels, Lewis holds nothing back in this bittersweet tell-all. His emotional tale of love, loss, and redemption will move anyone who’s ever felt alienated or outcast. It is a shockingly candid true-life story. If you like authentic narratives, stories of triumph, and surmounting the challenges of being LGBTQ, then you’ll be enthralled by Lewis Kempfer’s riveting memoir.
Don’t Mind Me, I’m Just Having a Bad Life
![Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Having a Bad Life: A Memoir by [Lewis Kempfer]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/414Lkzp7S1L.jpg)
Trauma comes in many forms and affects more of us on a daily basis than most will ever realize. Without ever knowing it, we encounter people every day who have had more than their fair share of abuse, drug addiction, and depression. Some of those people have been dealing with that trauma from an early age–Lewis is one of them. As a very young boy, Lewis quickly learned who he could and could not trust, and he saw those around them for who they truly were. His young adult life showed exactly how much damage that abuse caused.
Don’t Mind Me, I’m Just Having a Bad Life is a poignantly written memoir by Lewis Kempfer. Nowhere else will readers find a more raw telling of one man’s life. Kempfer has revealed every wound he has ever suffered and each one of the horror-filled moments he has survived from his early days in Colorado to his nightmarish life in Nashville. He minces no words and gives readers every opportunity to learn from the mistakes he has made along the way.
I can appreciate Kempfer’s story in many ways. He lays down the ugly truth of drug addiction so there is no mistaking the impact it has on the lives of those around the addict. Never does he try to sugarcoat his experience, and he is painfully honest about the ease with which he fell further under the spell. Readers need this–all of us. There is no reader who has not been touched in some way by addiction.
Kempfer’s very real battle with finding his faith is moving to say the least. He allows readers to walk along with him as he sees all sides of religion and hold his hand as he finds his own way. To say his story is stunning is an understatement. To say that it is moving is simply not sufficient. Kempfer’s life is absolutely a miracle and one of which the author is well aware.
I highly recommend Kempfer’s memoir to anyone struggling with addiction or any parent of a child who feels like they are losing the battle to find themselves. Kempfer’s road has been long, filled with the worst kind of potholes, and has nearly killed him, but his story will save someone.
Pages: 475 | ASIN: B07V2PS82D
LITERARY TITAN 