Joseph Jarrett

Last week, I gave my explanation as to why I kept the real identities of the people in Mishaps & Mistakes hidden under false names. Today, I’m going to explain why I kept MY name on the cover. It isn’t nearly as dramatic as you’d probably expect it to be, especially since this is me we are talking about.

Let me be very clear and blunt. I have absolutely no reason to hide whatsoever. I am not ashamed of a single thing I allowed the world to get in on. I had my reasons for writing what I did, and I simply wanted to own it. At the end of the day, I am the main character of my life. I deserve that top billing spot. You’d want that too if you worked as much as I did. I figured that if I changed my name, then it was not a life story anymore. It would just be a story, one that could be taken as fictional instead of reality. I am a very real person, not a character drawn up on a storyboard. If authors can carry so much pride in the characters they create, then shouldn’t a memoirist be proud of their own name? Wouldn’t changing my name totally defeat the purpose of me writing my story?

In August, I was wandering around a local bookstore in Jacksonville with my mom. She was on a mission to find decorative books that matched the coastal theme she was catering in our newly emptied guest bedroom (thanks to my sister moving out). I was goofing around and just browsing shelf after shelf. I discovered a shelf of books with some rather suggestive titles. I was instantly drawn in. After all, I am still an immature kid at heart. I may be almost twenty-six and legally responsible for a lot of things, but that does not change the fact that I love something raunchy. If G.W. Reynolds III can release titles such as Hoochie Coochie and Sugar Daddy, then I could be bold and release the contents of Mishaps & Mistakes proudly. In all honesty, I did not even read the descriptions of these books; I was just enthralled with the titles. Here’s a picture my mom snapped of me with these iconic titles after our laughing ceased.

I should’ve bought those books, shouldn’t I? Oh, well. Maybe I’ll stumble upon them again one day. In all seriousness, though, why wouldn’t I sign my story with my name? I have nothing to hide. I love the life I have lived so far. I am grateful for every memory, person, and experience I have had. That goes for the good and bad ones. I got something out of all those moments. I think that is something that is so incredibly important. You don’t have to like my story, my writing, or me. At the end of the day, you can only guarantee your own happiness. And when the sun sets every night here in Jacksonville, I am so damn happy I did what I did. I am happy with what Mishaps & Mistakes is. I am excited for what it could lead to. And I wouldn’t want to do anything related to it under a name that isn’t mine. But I did have a pen name ready, just in case. It was Xander Blair, for those inquisitive minds that would like to know.

But here I am, as Joseph, writing another little blog post. I really hope that when you lie down every night that you’re happy with what you’ve done so far. We deserve to live lives that feel like movies and that are worthy of a published memoir. We weren’t meant to rot in an office and never do anything more exciting than that. A life worth writing down is a life well lived. I’ll stand by that until the day I die. And I really hope you do, too.