Book Review: Inspiration Porn by Ryan O’Connell
Hello readers! I’m back today with a very exciting book review. I received a copy of this book to read and review on the blog. It’s called Inspiration Porn by Ryan O’Connell, and it’s a collection of personal essays.
I read his first book I’m Special a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. There were quite a few moments that made me laugh out loud. And I’m happy to say that Inspiration Porn was the same. Some of the essays are more humorous while others are more serious, but Ryan does a great job of entertaining us readers.
I love to read memoirs and essays so if you’re looking for moe reading recs, click here.
What is Inspiration Porn by Ryan O’Connell About?
Hilarious and bawdy musings on disability, sex, family, and Hollywood, from Emmy-winning writer and creator of the Netflix series Special.
For years, Ryan O’Connell wished he was different. Raised in a small Southern California beach town described as “Laguna Beach with meth,” his dad had taken off for greener pastures, and his alcoholic mom packed him lunches that wouldn’t win any Top Chef: Quickfire challenges. On top of that, he had to be disabled and gay?! Luckily, Ryan always had a love for writing. There, he could “construct the narrative of my life before anyone can construct it for me.” In essays that range from the poignant to the side-splitting, Ryan takes us along as he grapples with addiction, navigates the early days of writing for online media in NYC, and uses his voice to gain entrance into the cutthroat world of Hollywood, where he becomes a sought-after writer and creator. In other essays he asks the very important question: “Are Straight People Okay?” (short answer is no), explores the battle between your IRL vs URL identity, and ruminates on the healing power of being gay and on vacation. Finally, Ryan opens up his committed relationship and becomes a slut for the first time, keeping a diary of his sexual misadventures, and bravely healing his soul through his hole.
In the tradition of writers like Samantha Irby and David Sedaris, INSPIRATION PORN is a candid and often raunchy look at a life lived without apologies. (from Amazon.com)
Who is Ryan O’Connell?
Ryan O’Connell is an Emmy-award winning writer, actor and producer. He started out writing online and then started working on television shows. I believe in his book he mentioned writing for the MTV show Awkward, as well as the reboot of Will & Grace. He’s most known for his own Netflix show Special, which is based of his book, I’m Special. He also wrote Just By Looking At Him.
My Initial Thoughts
I love Ryan’s writing style. He takes serious topics and lightens them up with his funny way of looking at things. I think that’s why I enjoyed his writing so much when I used to read him on thought catalog. He would write essays about being a millenail and take these normal things that everyone was experiencing at the time and then go viral with his humorous takes. Fun fact: he actually writes about his Thought Catalog experiences in this book! I thought it was very fun to be taken behind the scenes of that work experience.
Inspiration Porn
I’ll admit that I didn’t know what the title was referring to when I started reading this book. But I learned quickly. Ryan is an incredibly successful writer and producer, who also has cerebral palsy. But he doesn’t want non-disabled people to look at people with disabilities as objects of inspiration. I believe his point was that lots of people with disabilities are successful and have careers, and so we shouldn’t objectify that and act like it’s this new and inspiring concept, when really it’s just people living their lives.
I hope I wrote that correctly. If I did not – please drop my a comment! I’m always looking to learn and be better. 🙂
The Content of Ryan’s Book
I found the first couple of stories really interesting – especially the ones about his Mom. Some of my family struggles with alcoholism and so hearing his story of growing up with his Mom felt a little relatable. I find it really interesting how he is able to take something so dark and make it humorous. Maybe it is his way of coping.
I really enjoyed his stories about his Dad too, especially when they visited Provincetown together. That felt very sweet in an unsual way. He talks about how scary it is when your straight friends start having babies and you wonder if you’ll ever have the same kind of friendship again.
He talks about his relationship with his partner, and about how they decided to have an open relationship.
There’s a part of Ryan’s book that he calls the slut diaries, which I didn’t really like. It’s basically a long monologue about all the random sex he has since he’s in an open relationship. Personally, I just found it boring to read a long list of his sexual encounters. I guess it was supposed to be edgy.
Ryan is Very Open About his Struggles
I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know about ryan by reading his book. He’s very open about his own struggles. Like how he was scared to tell a group of people about his cerebral palsy. Or how he became addicted to drugs and alcohol. It’s really scary to talk about those kinds of things, but when people share their personal experiences with those subjects, it can really help other people.
In Conclusion
I wanted to read this book because of Ryan’s previous book, and I would say I enjoyed this one just as much. Not all of the stories were for me, and that’s okay. It was still an enjoyable read. There were some sections that I even read out loud to my fiance because I thought he would enjoy them.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to following Ryan’s writing career and any new books that he writes.
P.S. If you enjoyed this book, you can stream Netflix’s Special today! I watched season 1 back when it first came out, but I didn’t know there was a second and final season. I’m looking forward to checking that out soon.
