Sarah Thyre's Dark at the Roots memoir spawns first Noveltown comedy vid - By N.L. Belardes

Could this be Sarah Thyre without her dashing blonde wig?

Sarah Thyre is an actress/writer from the deep South, practically from the bayou itself. She's appeared on Conan O'Brien and has just released her first book, Dark at the Roots. It's the story of a kid you might not trust, living life to the fullest in the throngs of dysfunctionality. For some reason I gravitated more to Thyre's depiction of her own youthful years: unpredictable, hilarious, and sympathetic. I found myself reading portions out loud on a road trip to L.A., mesmerizing the driver and crew with a particularly crazy scene regarding a cat and an ice cooler. Thyre's teen years read a bit like other memoirs I've been tearing though: a bit predictable though still worthy of a good laugh.

I caught up with Sarah recently to ask her about her new memoir. Of course we'd done a little spying on her...

Interview:

Noveltown: Sarah, we’ve been spying on you. We’ve seen you on YouTube and on myspace where you’ve been doing a little bit of networking—all for the release of your hilarious just released memoir, Dark at the Roots. In a way, reading your book was like spying on your entire childhood. Or should I say, peeking in on the childhood of a bad kid. Were you a bad kid and how do you feel about Noveltown spying on you?

Sarah: No! I wasn't a bad kid! Manipulative, yes, but I had to do something to get ahead. I craved approval from people too much to be "bad." Also I knew I had to keep my permanent record clean if I was gonna get into college and escape.

Spy away!


Sarah Thyre seen with Bakersfield filmmaker, Rickey Bird of Hectic Films

Noveltown: Dark at the Roots gives insight into your literary interest as a youth. What made you write your memoir as opposed to a movie script, fiction novel, or Lemony Snicket-ish series of diatribes to your dark beginnings as a kid on the loose?

Sarah: I've always wanted to write a book. I love books. I'm too self-absorbed to write anything but a memoir.


Sarah Thyre with love interest, N.L. Belardes...

Noveltown: To help writers out who can’t get past page two in their own books, tell us what motivated you to follow through with your memoir. Did you have a book deal before you finished your manuscript?

Sarah: I sold the book based on a proposal and the first three chapters. For years, I'd been writing and performing stories for free, but it took getting an advance to make me sit down and put an actual book together. I could also justify getting a regular babysitter since I was making my own money and not just mooching off my husband.



Noveltown: What does your family think about the memoir? Are they gathering up copies for a Southern-style book burning? We want juicy details please.

Sarah: My siblings are all fine with it because they're fame whores who are looking forward to lower-mid-range wine and pre-cubed cheese parties. Little do they know the only thing they'll be eating is my dust!

Noveltown: Did you emulate any particular comedic writers/personalities in creating Dark at the Roots?

Sarah: David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs are of course inspirations for me, as someone who takes shit (sometimes literally) and makes it funny. I think I have a voice of my own though, which says: It's true people DO suck.

Noveltown: Sarah, I have to ask about when you literally caught us spying on you. What was going through your mind?

Sarah: As long as I wasn't plucking nipple hairs when you were watching, I don't mind. Not that I have any nipple hairs to pluck, mind you. What do you think, I'm some sort of hairy monster?

What's this? Sarah Thyre caught on video??


Dark At The Roots - The best video clips are right here

Noveltown: Aside from all the comedy in your book, there’s a tone of seriousness about dysfunctional families being normal. Care to comment?

Sarah: The title Dark at the Roots is tongue-in-cheek and what I call a lie that happens to be true. There was some bad stuff in my past, but it could've been a lot worse. I think when you're a kid in a dysfunctional family, you find out about it in bits and pieces, like if you see your friend's mom and dad kiss each other and smile like they enjoy each other's company, you realize there's something wrong in your house because your parents NEVER do that, unless they've drunk several highballs. Lucky for me, no matter how dysfunctional we were, my family prized having a sense of humor, which is probably the ultimate survival mechanism.

Noveltown: We think your memoir should be a bible for kids with your personality type. Describe your personality type.

Sarah: My personality type? I hate labels!

Noveltown: Thanks for hanging out with us.

Sarah: I think I'm lost. Do you know the way to Memoirtown?


The real Sarah Thyre's promo pic after make-up and airbrushing

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Wednesday, March 28, 2007. You can leave your response.