lanewillson

For someone who’s livelihood is made making folks laugh, Craig Ferguson is a rather serious bloke. American on Purpose is a wonderful, moving, inspiring, and at times even funny, tale of Craig’s quest for the Holy Grail. Like so many of us in recovery he mistakes many things, people, substances, for the grail before coming to his own “there’s no place like home” moment. There were two aspects of Craig’s tale of Glasgow defection I found especially poignant. The first is that his description of his adventure thus far has no hint of self-pity. Even those parts of his life that were difficult, whether because of his own actions or a strange twist of karma, seems to be told with a smile, or at least looking you in the eye. The second is similar. There is humor in the “I can’t believe I did that / said that / took that / slept with that”, but there remains an understanding of the guilt and shame tsunami that washes up the morning after such behavior. The final aspect shows, in addition to the fact that I cannot count, Craig has merged his dream of becoming an American with his willingness to live a day at a time. Speaking of he and his son’s new found American past time baseball, Craig describes the American mindset “My son and I are Americans, we prepare for glory by failing until we don’t.”Indeed he has not failed to tell what he used to be like, what happened, and what he is like now, in a very enjoyable recovering Scottish/American dialect.