John

If you have a heart, this book will rip it out . . . continually.

Harris was one of the funniest people on the planet, hands down. I miss seeing his name pop up in my podcast feed as a guest on shows like Comedy Bang! Bang! and Who Charted, or trying to convince Scott Aukerman that Phish was a good band on Analyze Phish.

I was just a fan, though. Reading how his sister and family have had to deal with this tragedy was gut-wrenching. I tend to forget most of a book pretty quickly after reading it, but I don't think this one is leaving my memory anytime soon, if ever.

This book is in my top 3. Megan is an incredible writer and her story is amazing. It's hard to believe she's the same person that I wrote off as less than human back in 2010/11 when I was most aware of her thanks to Twitter. I've always been fascinated by how intelligent people can be so thoroughly indoctrinated into cults and belief systems that are so completely out of line and against the rest of society. In Megan's case it definitely helped being born into it, but at the same time she wasn't sheltered from the outside world. She went to public schools, was well educated and well read, and consumed whatever pop culture she wanted. It just shows how scarily easy it is to influence and completely control people. It worries me to think that no one (including myself) is entirely immune to it.

This book isn't sensationalist or some ghostwritten memoir just looking to make a quick buck. Megan is extremely intelligent, very introspective, and impossible not to like. I used to assume she had to be a complete sociopath to hold and express the beliefs she had, especially the way she expressed them. I couldn't have been more wrong. This book blew my mind and eyes wide open. I hope she continues to write.