The writer, her son, a book and a thorny question of ethics

[themolesmother]

Have been following this story over the course of the week:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/4971982/Julie-Myerson-author-of-book-about-sons-drug-abuse-admits-writing-family-column.html

To sum it up. Whiny media celebrity and author pens a book about her son's cannabis addiction, its effect on her family and alleges she had to throw

Comments

[nineveh_uk]

I'm perfectly willing to believe that her son was an utte rhorro and made a complete pain in the arse of himself. They may even have been justified in throwing him out - but even if all that's true, it's still immensely tacky (at least) to do a tell-all book while your son's still alive and without his express permission. And then create a media storm about it as well.He may have been hell to live with, endangered the other children etc. etc. and I don't underestimate how awful it may have been if her side of the story is true, but even so I am strongly influenced in the whole business by the fact that he was, when it all started (and "all" must include the ghastly Living with Teenagers, in which clearly this was a nightmare household) a child. Write about your drug-addled partner all you like. I won't read it unless it is Great Literature*, but s/he's an adult. An adult who gets involved with a my-life-writing fellow adult does so knowlingly. This is about a child - he didn't choose to get involved with her, knowing that she would

[themolesmother]

I don't underestimate how awful it may have been if her side of the story is true, but even so I am strongly influenced in the whole business by the fact that he was, when it all started (and "all" must include the ghastly Living with Teenagers, in which clearly this was a nightmare household) a child

I agree with you. The saddest quote from him I've read is, "she's been writing about me since I was two." There, I suggest, lies the source of his problems, including the cannabis addiction.

MM

[themolesmother]

Have you read the truly nauseating quotes from her I saw them in the Times, but I expect they're everywhere) about how she's such an artiste and her writing comes from 'some place in her heart she's not fully aware of' and this somehow makes it all right?

Yup. My response to that one was "for God's sake woman, grow up!!"

I feel so sorry for her kids.

MM

[themolesmother]

Frankly, I think she's so up herself, she's pathetic. I am totally on the side of her son.

Sums up my feelings about it in a nutshell. I'd never actually heard of her until this whole thing started and I'm glad. I had come across the Living with Teenagers column a couple of times and it made me distinctly queasy.

It has really put me off reading the Grauniad now as I cannot for the life of me understand how the editors of G2 could publish Living with Teenagers knowing that the kids were completely unaware she was exposing their lives in this way.

MM