Met one of my literary heroes today: Chuck Palahniuk. He tried to choke me out!

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FIGHT CLUB is one of my favorite books. When the trailer for the movie came out, a lot of people dismissed it as gratuitous violence and skipped the movie. Their loss, because it’s not really about a bunch of dudes punching each other, it’s about a young man finding his identity in a culture of relentless consumerism and self-absorbed self-improvement.

“Maybe self-improvement isn’t the answer…
Maybe self-destruction is the answer.”

I was lucky enough to patch things up with my father before his final self-destruction. FIGHT CLUB was a part of coming to terms with that. Today I got to thank Chuck in person for his contribution to that life event for me. And I asked him to inscribe my old and dog-eared copy to my son…

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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure… and definitely worth more than a 20-year grudge. If you’re lucky enough to have a father still breathing, call him now. Do whatever you have to do to bury the hatchet. Don’t let it bury you.

And, oh yeah… check out Chuck’s new comic series, FIGHT CLUB 2!

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