I don't know where the idea originated that memoir writing is cathartic. For me, it's always felt like playing my own neurosurgeon, sans anesthesia.
I grew up in a family that despised displays of strong emotion, rage in particular. We stewed. We sulked. When arguments did occur, they were full-scale conniptions, and we regarded them as family failings. Afterward, we withdrew from one another and tried our best to strike the event from our memories.
Since I've quit drinking, I'm not sure I've found the good life, but I've certainly uncovered a better one.
I do think anger is so difficult for women. Girls think it undermines their femininity; it's not very ladylike.
Why is Kris Jenner a powerhouse? Because some part of us confuses fame and infamy, too. If she really bothered us half as much as we claim she does, we'd look away and stop feeding her empire.
Having a child doesn't make a woman a mother any more than owning a paintbrush makes her Frida Kahlo.
