Brooklyn Bookbeat: Brooklyn writer publicly apologizes for lifetime of misdoings
What are you sorry for? Do you ever wish you could apologize to an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend you mistreated, or to your parents whom you undoubtedly offended so many years ago? Brooklyn writer Dave Bry certainly has…and after reflecting on years of regret, he’s decided to do just that.
In his debut memoir “Public Apology: In Which a Man Grapples with a Lifetime of Regret, One Incident at a Time” (Grand Central Publishing; March 19, 2013), Bry confesses to numerous actions he wishes he could erase from his past. Even more, he directs each remembrance at the particular recipient to whom he is apologizing.
Bry begins with a chapter titled “Junior High: Or a time in my life that might best be rendered as one long apology to everyone I came into contact with. And also to myself.” In this section, Bry writes letters to old friends, romantic interests, camp counselors, and teachers, among others, apologizing for lying to, pranking, and disappointing these figures who may or may not have been important to him in the long run.