Jason Schmidt

A List of Things that Didn't Kill Me is an eye-opening memoir about growing up with an abusive parent, and it's also a story of getting through a rough life, of determination to keep going. Schmidt's story can be brutal at times, but it doesn't read as a series of tragedies. It's admirable how he gets through it and tells his story after the fact, portraying his relationship with his dad and his life as very complex and many-sided.

I like Schmidt's writing style in his prose, but the chapter show more structure often threw me off, because it jumped around chronologically a bit; he wrote thematically and grouped events rather than times. He doesn't tone down events for the readers, even though this is categorized as YA, which is good, and I hope it helps kids in situations similar to his feel less alone. show less

I like this, but man, it seemed to go on forever. The early parts of the book, detailing his life from age three to 13, are really hard to read. It's just...harrowing. It gives me hope, though, that a kid who had such a rough start with no support system could turn out to be a good human being. It also helped me realize that, at the end of the day, I'm hardly the shittiest parent in the world.

My biggest question is why was this in the YA section at the library? Are there other YA memoirs? show more What makes this different from a "regular" memoir? Is it because he's not famous? That was weird. show less

It's been over a month and I'm still periodically thinking about this book. Jason's memoir tells what it was like growing up with a broke, gay dad who ended up being HIV in the 70s. It's amazing that the author was able to survive growing up this way and I think it's a testament to what we can endure. I think memoirs like this are important b/c they show teens who are growing up in fucked up situations that others have and that they've survived. I do wish it had provided a bit more show more background on where the author is now for that reason but still imporant without it. show less

It's been over a month and I'm still periodically thinking about this book. Jason's memoir tells what it was like growing up with a broke, gay dad who ended up being HIV in the 70s. It's amazing that the author was able to survive growing up this way and I think it's a testament to what we can endure. I think memoirs like this are important b/c they show teens who are growing up in fucked up situations that others have and that they've survived. I do wish it had provided a bit more show more background on where the author is now for that reason but still imporant without it. show less