Pamela Beckford's Reviews > The Uptown Local: Joy, Death, and Joan Didion: A Memoir

A memoir of a man who has had many struggles - father in prison, best friend died suddenly and a desire to be a part of a different class of people than his upbringing had prepared him for. Through his struggles he has a very bright light in working with Joan Didion for years.

The writing in this book was so well done - you could tell that Leadbetter agonized over all the word choices in order to find just the most precise word. But I found this book rather depressing. His life has been a dark one and it came through in the book. There was one very enlightening chapter describing the feelings of being suicidal.

Joy, Death and Joan Didion - I just didn't feel much joy while reading this memoir. Death was a prominent theme and not as much on Joan Didion as I would have like to have read. Joan was definitely a mentor and supporter but her influence was just not as in depth as I would have wanted.

The book was a worthwhile book to learn more about the inner workings of depression and suicide and for the prose.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my fair and honest opinion.