Drew Magary on a Mysterious Traumatic Brain Injury, a Coma, an Intolerable Personality, and a Recovery

As if sustaining a traumatic brain injury and being in a coma for a few weeks wasn’t bad enough - and it certainly was - Drew Magary had the added complication of becoming a real asshole. Which was unexpected. You’d think that surviving an ordeal like that would make one glad to be alive, more conscious of appreciating one’s family and all that life had to offer. And it did to some extent but he also turned into a complete jerk.Drew is a co-founder and writer for Defector.com, a columnist for SF Gate, and author of the memoir The Night The Lights Went Out, which is all about his injury and recovery. He’s not an asshole anymore. So in the interview and in the book, he tells the story of how he came to understand his condition, how he worked with a therapist, and how he made some changes.By the way, I’m really glad to be working in podcasting because I think “asshole” is exactly the right word to use to describe him. Maybe “real piece of shit” would work but then you’d be up against the same cuss word problem.Follow Drew Magary on Twitter @drewmagary. Get your copy of The Night The Lights Went Out wherever books are sold. Thank you to all our listeners who support the show as monthly members of Maximum Fun.Hey, remember, you’re part of Depresh Mode and we want to hear what you want to hear about. What guests and issues would you like to have covered in a future episode? Write us at [email protected] is available right away.The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255, 1-800-273-TALKCrisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741.International suicide hotline numbers available here: https://www.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlinesThe Depresh Mode newsletter is available twice a week. Subscribe for free and stay up to date on the show and mental health issues. https://johnmoe.substack.com/John's acclaimed memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is available here.Find the show on Twitter @depreshpod and Instagram @depreshpod.John is on Twitter @johnmoe. Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joindepresh