Review: Lacks Self-Control by Roy Sekoff

In Lacks Self-Control: True Stories I Waited Until My Parents Died to Tell, author Roy Sekoff plumbs his past for anecdotal stories that will leave readers chuckling, cringing, and occasionally crying with laughter. As the founding editor of Huffington Post, Sekoff’s perspective on political issues is well known, but this new collection of stories points his scathing wit squarely on himself.

With acerbic self-awareness, Sekoff opens up about his tumultuous childhood, largely due to his own chaotic behavior and questionable views on authority. He continues the confessional on into his young adulthood, with occasional flash-forwards to even more recent times for perspective on his younger flops and failings. Sekoff was a class clown, a troublemaker, a pot-stirrer and a perennial questioner, and those characteristics he stubbornly refused to shed likely led him to such impressive professional heights.

For those who know about Sekoff’s nearly two decades in the 24-hour news world, this collection is a peek behind the curtain – and an unexpected delight. As a humanizing exposé on himself, this smart and sharply written memoir reveals a remarkably entertaining id, one that easily and deftly suppresses his superego when the chance for a comedic moment presents itself.

There are no secret parts of his life deemed off limits, and the sincerity of the writing makes it as enjoyable as swapping stories with an old friend. The pacing and delivery of the prose is as good as any stand-up comic, but the whip-smart edge to the writing itself elevates this book to a different class. Sekoff can artfully depict a scene and nail a one-liner in the same breath, which imbues every page with the potential for a good guffaw, or a profound musing.

Refreshingly, Sekoff doesn’t always chase laughs, and some of these stories veer into more serious topics, or at least those that feel serious to an oversexed, rambunctious teenager with an iceberg-sized chip on his shoulder. Very few authors, in this reviewer’s experience, have navigated the minefield of male adolescence in storytelling as well as Sekoff does in the first few yarns, particularly without leaning on lowest-common-denominator laughs. He isn’t afraid to strip down naked on the page and be brutally honest, whether it’s about exploration of his own body or the failings of certain early educators in his school days.

When the stories dip into the more recent past, such as Sekoff’s pseudo-depressing run-in with Chevy Chase in 2008, he balances insightful reflections on fame’s fleeting nature with well-timed punchlines, taking himself and his musings just seriously enough. Some of his stories veer into cheaper laughs, such as his gastrointestinal escapades in “The Church of the High Colonic,” but even there Sekoff presents an uncomfortable, but realistic part of growing up in as humorous a way as possible. Nearly every piece in this collection hits home in one way or another, and while some pieces will be more affecting than others, the writing is snappy and polished throughout.

If you’re looking for a savage, satisfying read about the ridiculous nature of life, young lust, and growing up, Lacks Self-Control is as good as they come, thanks to Roy Sekoff’s sharp wit and brazen honesty.

Lacks Self-Control was the Bronze Award Winner in the 2018 SPR Book Awards.