Summary

Manson writes about one of the most significant moments of his life, which occurred when he was 19-years-old and his close friend Josh died at a party after jumping off a cliff into a lake. Manson went into a deep depression after the loss of his friend before eventually coming to the realization that "in the face of the inevitability of death, there is no reason to ever give in to one's fear or embarrassment or shame, since it's all just a bunch of nothing anyway; and that by spending the majority of my short life avoiding what was painful and uncomfortable, I had essentially been avoiding being alive at all" (194). After this realization, Manson gave up video games and weed; he signed up for college, read more, and got his first girlfriend. Before tragedy, he was inhibited and self-conscious. Post-tragedy, he became responsible...