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Memoir is the Truth After One Margarita

The edited transcript of my Medium Day talk

I spoke earlier this month during the second-annual Medium Day — -the unedited, rambling video is available right here. But I’m publishing my talk as an essay with more than a few tweaks. I also left off the Q&A, which was short, and it was also my first. I think I did okay, but I may have talkedreallyfast. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading!

Hi. My name is John. Thanks for coming to my Medium Day talk. I’ve been writing here on Medium for many years now, and I’m excited to be a part of this event.

A few years ago — before the lockdowns — I found myself sitting in an airport bar during a layover. I was going to visit family in Texas, but the weather had other plans. I am fourteen years sober, and, at the time, I was nursing my non-alcoholic drink of choice: a club soda and pineapple juice.

I sat next to a person polishing off their first margarita, and we started talking and chatting. They asked me where I was going: to hang out with my difficult family. I returned the question, and they told me about their own difficult family. It was the margarita, but they were loose and friendly and vulnerable. Funny. We were instant, temporary friends. I remember…