Review of Dirtbag, Massachusetts: A Confessional by Isaac Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald recounts various scenes from his gritty, disrupted childhood, shares the chosen family he forms working long-term at a bar, explains his body dysmorphia, and tells the reader how he tries to be a good person in the world. I found his stories intriguing, but for me the essay format made the book feel somewhat disjointed.

In his memoir-in-essay-form Dirtbag, Massachusetts, Isaac Fitzgerald traces his life from his unlikely conception (his parents were married...but to other people, and each parent was using birth control during their affair, making his existence somewhat of a miracle), through a volatile childhood, to a drifting young adulthood.

He doesn't pull punches, noting his gritty young existence surrounded by violence, uncertainty, and a lack of structure. His path as a young adult is unconventional and at times he lives on the fringes of societal norms. Yet he remains thoughtful about his place in the world, he struggles with body dysmorphia, and he tries to forgive his parents' many failings.

The book is a collection of essays, and it therefore felt somewhat disjointed to me as a life story. Fitzgerald has lived in a homeless shelter; he was abused by his father; his mother's mental illness and frequent emotional roller coaster made him feel perpetually unmoored. He bartended and formed a chosen family among his coworkers that lasted for years. His account of his time in Thailand was one of the most fascinating portions for me. He also delved into participating in porn productions as what felt like a somewhat lighthearted experiment that he abandons after a time.

A significant chunk of the book concerns his experience in the Catholic church, his parents' jobs within that institution, and the haunting, horrific worldwide revelations about the organization's systemic abuse of children. But this felt somewhat at a distance for me as a reader because it feels so for Fitzgerald, who thankfully did not witness or experience such devastating acts--but does mention what might have been a close call in his youth.

Ultimately the memoir as a whole felt somewhat chaotic and disconnected to me--dipping in and out of political views, too-brief self-reflection, body shame whose mentions emerge relatively late in the book, and general, positive notions about being kind and standing up against others if they spew hateful views.

I was intrigued that Fitzgerald recounts some of his key youthful life experiences at the end of the book. I might have appreciated having the specific context early on, but the recollections do carry weight in their late presentation.

I listened to an audiobook version of this title through Libby and my public library.

In November, I'm going to hear Isaac Fitzgerald speak at a library foundation event.

More Books to Check Out

Fitzgerald's newest book is the nonfiction American Rambler: Walking the Trail of Johnny Appleseed.

You might want to check out these other Bossy nonfiction favorites and memoir favorites.