A Personal Essay By A Personal Essay

Flipping through the collection of essays, one struggles to find a positive essay. Even just the first sentence may disturb some readers so much they put the book away. “A Personal Essay By A Personal Essay” by Christy Vannoy is an intriguing essay that touches on Vannoy’s own struggles while mixing them with the stories she heard at a clinic led by a national women’s magazine.

 As other people, or “essays” as she calls them, at the clinic present, Vannoy judges them harshly. Although the only obvious credibility she has is that McSweeny’s, a famous publishing house, published her work, her life experiences justify her ability to judge the other stories. Throughout her life she has dealt with severe issues: as a child Vannoy was beaten by her mother; later she developed bulimia; and her only developmentally disabled child originated from an affair with a second cousin.

Vannoy authors this piece to explain that sad writing strongly captivates an audience. Her humorous and sarcastic tone makes it much more interesting and less depressing. As Vannoy recounts the essays she heard at the clinic she jokes, “As soon as they let women in the Middle East start talking, you’ll have to hold an editor hostage to get a response. Mark my words” (Vannoy 210). Even though it is a serious issue Vannoy knows from her career how powerful essays from these women will be. Another essay in the room deals with alopecia and Vannoy’s evaluation was that her message was in the right place but her focus was wrong, “Bald is not the story… I think she needed to focus on not having eyelashes or pubic hair. Now that’s interesting” (Vannoy 211). Vannoy knows all of these somber narratives will make great essays because the emotional tug grabs the reader. The stories shared in this essay are heartbreaking but Vannoy uses a balance between sarcasm and sorrow to keep her audience attentive. Now when searching for an essay to write a blog post about it is clear why everything in the book is so solemn.

"I feel depressed. I know I should be happy, but I'm not" - Charlie Brown