Collect The Jerusalem Syndrome My Life As A Reluctant Messiah Narrated By Marc Maron Issued As Textbook

memoir Similar to the portions of Maron's podcast where he talks about his life His experience of life is extreme than mine Scattered throughout there are details that light up important moments of his life that are things that I will never experience There are little relatable moments like how he gets so excited by shopping for sneakers that he tells the people at the store that they should come with a cape Since I like Maron this gave me a solid grasp on where he's coming from I don't know that someone who didn't already like him would be interested in reading this This isn't Angela's Ashes which is my gold standard for memoirs And it isn't supposed to be But it is better than a lot of the memoirs that I read about other people that I already like I laughed all day listening to this book and that's a gift The last chapter was a bit sentimental but the rest was pretty relentless belly laughs And who doesn't need those Highly recommended Augmented my read of Attempting Normal with the audio version of this one Maron'smemoir shaped around a God complexreligious theme Being a huge WTF fan and having just read Attempting Normal the difference to me between Maron now and Maron then is uite striking The WTF era Maron is much softer and I have to say IMO much funnier This one has an edge a pressure to it that seems to actually make the jokes not land anywhere near as well obscures them even Plus the religious theme seems a little foisted upon it either that or it just makes him seem that much of a pain in the assself centerednarcissistic What's weirdest to me about it is that this audio version is new so that edge and anger and whatever are at least to him really tied into the content and not just a factor of who is reading it HE is reading it and he read it recently So either he is still reading it with the attitude that it was written with years ago and leftover from the stage show about it whereas it could actually be delivered softly now and thus be a little self deprecatingpalatable or else that's just mixed into it enough that you can't separate the two Either way this book makes it clear how much work Maron has done on himself in the intervening decade and he's a much softer approachable version of himself now Good on him I impulse downloaded this book to my Kindle while at the gym because I finished what I was reading and had also recently finished working my way back through all the old WTF podcasts Though some of the stories were familiar from the podcast this book was surprisingly touching in addition to being funny Devoured it in aboutdays and loved every second of it Love Maron's honest comedic voice Listened to the audiobook I'm a Maron fan but this book was of a weaker structure than Attempting Normal Approach as bonus contentbackstory to that I could write a long screed about all the aspects of The Jerusalem Syndrome that I didn't like but won't bother to spend any time on it than I already have listening to it I did not enjoy Maron's narration at all and I uit counting how many times I almost gave up on it during chaptersin which he explains at great length his years of almost unbelievable substance abuse If Goodreads allowed it I'd rate itbecause there wereoranecdotes near the beginning and end of the book that caused me to chuckle This one's really not my cup of tea By the author of Attempting Normal and host of the podcast WTF with Marc Maron The Jerusalem Syndrome is The Gospel according to Maron a spiritual memoir of your average hyperintelligent ultraneurotic superhip Jewish standup comedian and seeker  The Jerusalem Syndrome is a genuine psychological phenomenon that often strikes visitors to the Holy Landthe delusion that they are suddenly direct vessels for the voice of God Marc Maron seems to have a distinctly American version of the Jerusalem Syndrome which has led him on a lifelong uest for religious significance and revelation in the most unlikely of places Maron riffs on Beat phenomena with its sacred texts established rituals and prescribed pilgrimages He spends some time exploring the dark side of things as his obsessions with cocaine known to Maron as “magic powder” conspiracy theories and famous self destructive comedians convince him that the gates of hell open beneath Los Angeles As his uest matures he reveals the religious aspects of Corporate America pontificating on the timeless beauty of the Coca Cola logo and even taking a trip to the Philip Morris cigarette factory where the workers puff their own products with a zealot like fervor The culmination of Marons Jerusalem Syndrome comes during his own tour of the Holy Land where with Sony camcorder glued to his eye socket he comes face to face with his own ambiguous relationship to Judaism and reaches the brink of spiritual revelationor is it nervous breakdown Marc Maron has considerably adapted and expanded his praised one man show to craft a genuine literary memoir Whether hes a genuine prophet or a neurotic mess hell make you laugh as you uestion the meaning of life “Marc Maron is blazingly smart rapid fire and very funny A brilliant and relentless screed” David Rakoff author of Fraud “Marc Maron is the first crazy person Ive ever envied In his brainiac memoir meets hilarious travelogue he demonstrates the ability to tell a story with an extraordinary provocative intelligence that is regrettably shared by few” Janeane Garofolo comedian I feel that this was probably a great show but the jokes were lost in translation There were a few good linesFaux Bohemians dressed in vintage clothes If they couldnt find integrity in their own time maybe they could find it in the pants of another time”“The thing about conspiracy literature is that its perfect for stupid people who want to seem smart and ground their hatred in something completely mystical and confusing”He also has some thought provoking ideas“All I know is that when Im in a spiritual crisis Ill do anythingsmoke eat drink watch TV get online buy something listen to music go to the movies take a driveanything but get down on my knees and say “God its Marc I dont know who I am any Can you help me”As I stood at the Wall I realized that I was part of an ancient mystical and spiritual community I have my own beliefs but at the wall I felt that I was part of an eternal legacy It was something other than the Internet which might ultimately win out as it slowly usurps the collective unconscious”I think the path of my life has been to follow a trail of crumbs being dropped unintentionally by a God eating a piece

of cake as he walks uickly away from a dinner I wasnt invited to on his way to deal with the end of the world”I had a moment when I understood the power of the religious community I imagined what it would feel like to try to obey the laws of God To age move through and share all the processes of life with a circle of people with common beliefs To rally together and persevere in the face of adversity and evil To help and hurt each other in the name of love To be there for each others successes failures joys and tragedies then to try to fill your heart with the good moments and elevate them to a true deep feeling of worthiness as a human being To know youve done the best you can in the eyes of your peers and in the eyes of God Most important to try to fight against that moment of horrible truth when you look around and realize how utterly unfair it all is as the injustice of time and disease slowly levels everyone Thats where the idea of God really comes into play It eases the move toward the ground Believing in the grand plan can take the edge off if you let it because it really doesnt end well for anyone Acceptance”Excerpt From Maron Marc “The Jerusalem Syndrome” Broadway BooksiBooks This material may be protected by copyrightCheck out this book on the iBooks Store This material may be protected by copyright I think I would have enjoyed this if I'd read it before listening toepisodes of Maron's podcast where he has retold large portions of this book I saw Marc Maron's stand up performance at a small comedy club in Ybor City about five or six years ago Ever since then I keep expecting him to become hugely famous overnight he was utterly hysterical It's never happened and in the meantime we have Dane Cook Faith in the face of disappointment is only enhanced by laughter in the face of painI still believe there are no coincidences but I no longer think I am the chosen one I think the path of my life has been to follow a trail of crumbs being dropped unintentionally by a God eating a piece of cake as he walks uickly away from a dinner I wasn't invited to on his way to deal with the end of the worldThere is a realization one makes as one gets older When you're young you really think you are angry for reasons and causes As you get older you realize you might just be angry It was part of my voice I still craved a purpose A grand purpose I felt that God had put me on hold Marcus David Maron is an American stand up comedian podcaster writer and actorHe has been host of The Marc Maron Show and co host of both Morning Sedition and Breakroom Live all politically oriented shows produced by Air America Media He hosted Comedy Central's Short Attention Span Theater for a year replacing Jon Stewart Maron was a freuent guest on the Late Show with David Letterman and.