My Top 10 Essays of 2023
John Gorman’s Greatest Hits, Volume 6
What a weird fucking year. I’m going to try to put a bow on it here, but I’ll be honest — I couldn’t tell you if it was good or bad. I can only talk about the year I had and see if any of you can relate.
By every metric, my year was a profound, all-consuming failure. My health cratered. My relationship crumbled. I lost an incredible amount of money. I applied to 4,000 jobs and didn’t get any of them.
Along the way, I lost my home, and I was forced to leave my city under the cover of darkness.
This was an all-time bad year creatively, romantically, financially, and professionally. I gained an incredible amount of weight, drank too much, and got both blackmailed and assaulted.
Everything sucked.
Until it didn’t.
Over 100 days between July 20 and October 29, I experienced something akin to a spiritual rebirth. A resurrection from the ashes of my old life.
It’s those 100 days I will remember so long as my brain remains online.
Instead of finding a job, I started a company and made back the money I lost (and then some).
I aged in reverse and lost hella weight. I quit smoking and gave up beer. I haven’t taken asthma…
