Dark At The Roots: A Memoir

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Description

A David Sedaris-style family memoir, "Dark at the Roots" is the hilarious true story of a girl who was often too precocious for her own good. Given the nickname "little liar" by her father around the time she started talking, Sarah Thyre was the second of five children to be born into a southern family of Roman Catholics. Confused by this endearment, but eager to live up to it, Sarah quickly managed to get herself into precarious situations. Whether it is small Sarah accidentally going "poddy" in the garage during a game of hide-and-seek, medium-sized Sarah surviving a fishing trip with her volatile father, or full-sized Sarah unwittingly stealing a car from her boyfriend's employer, grown-up Sarah shares each story with self-effacing sincerity and a seemingly invincible sense of humour. The ability to turn pain to punch lines is a skill that Sarah honed by necessity: Her father was unpredictably moody and routinely lashed out at his young family until eventually Sarah's mother moved her four girls and newborn son out of the "comfort" of marriage and into the uncertainty of single parenting. The regular meals and the indoor heating were soon drained from their middle-class lifestyle. Still, Sarah boldly tried to maintain a facade of wealth - fooling no one but herself. This memoir flees from Sarah's childhood with the high-wire urgency of improv comedy and the ever-teetering forward momentum of a runaway toddler while holding tight to the bits that made her the wry, deeply funny person she is today.

Reviews

"As a big fan of 'Thyrezine, ' I can't wait for Dark at the Roots. Sarah Thyre has a remarkable story to tell, and she tells it, well, remarkably." -- David Sedaris
"Sarah Thyre just happens to be a marvelous writer. Hers is a truly distinct voice with a twisted poet's gift for the perfect turn of phrase. She will be much imitated." -- David Rakoff

Author Bio

Sarah Thyre is an actress, comedienne, and writer who has performed on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," "Strangers with Candy," "Upright Citizens Brigade," and "TV Funhouse." She has written and performed her own work on National Public Radio, freshyarn.com, live onstage at New York's Luna Lounge, UCB Theatre, L.A.'s Comedy Central Stage, and ImprovOlympic. Her acting credits include "The Real Live Brady Bunch," as well as plays by Amy and David Sedaris, including the Obie-winning One Woman Shoe and Lincoln Center's Incident at Cobbler's Knob. For many years, she also published her own humour-zine, "Thyrezine." She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and child.