I'd So Much Rather People Think I

Royal Young Has Accomplished A Rare Feat In His Fresh And Riveting Debut: He Manages To Recount His Fascinating Youth And Unconventional Family With A Mixture Of Humor, Scathing Honesty And Tenderness. Much More Than Simply A Book About A Kid Who Dreams Of Stardom, Fame Shark Is A Thoughtful, Hilarious And Moving Love Letter To His Family And The Lower East Side Of New York City.

Onstage, I Was Never The Ingenue.

My Fantasy Life Made Me Survivor. One Day I Knew That Me, This Skinny, Ugly Girl Who Was Only Invited To Slumber Parties When They Were Forced To - Someday I Knew I Would Be Someone. That Was My Driving Goal. It Wasn't To Be Famous. I Didn't Want Furs And Signing Autographs, I Didn't Care About Any Of That. I Wanted To Be Someone Other Than Myself.

I Literally Felt Like A Freak, Which Is Another Aspect Of The Role Of Sally That I Relate To: Total Outsider.

I Think It Became Blurry Because I Grew Up In A Very Private Family. I Mixed Privacy And Secrecy Up Somewhere Along The Line. Everything Became A Secret, And I Thought That Was How You Should Live. Lying About Everything. The Mask I Put On As A Kid To Survive Was The Funny Lady. Then The Funny Person All Of A Sudden Became Harder To Do Without Substances. Substances Let Me Keep The Mask On Longer. Until It Doesn't Work Anymore And You're Just A Mess.