Alexandra Bogdanovic's Blog: That's life... - Posts Tagged "scandal"

While engrossed in the ongoing process of streamlining, downsizing and simplifying my life, I unearthed another interesting treasure this week.
It emerged from a pile of miscellaneous papers stacked on a bookshelf in the basement. In this case, "it" was actually two pieces of paper and a business size envelope bearing a Stamford, Connecticut postmark. Dated May 13, 1998, the envelope was addressed to the newspaper where I worked at the time. There was no return address.
The accompanying papers turned out to be even more interesting. One was a photocopy of a "Page Six" story from the New York Post dated Thursday, May 7, 1998. It detailed an alleged incident at a charity event hosted by an old friend of mine.
Apparently a fracas occurred when someone at the party told a New York investment banker that smoking a cigar in a barn is not a bright idea. According to the Page Six account, things got even more heated when the banker refused to extinguish his cigar...
But the other piece of paper shed an entirely different light on the same incident. Written in a way that suggested the author witnessed the event, the second account indicated the banker was alleged aggressor -- hurling insults at the event organizer who asked him to extinguish the cigar -- and trading punches with her husband.
To the horror of the anonymous author, the banker allegedly screamed the unthinkable as he was escorted out of the event in front of more than 100 people.
"The unbelievable part of the story is that he was being hauled out, he shouts in front of everyone 'Do you know who I am? I am a Goldman Sachs Partner. Do you hear me? I am a Goldman Sachs Partner. And I am best friends with Paul Tudor Jones. You can't do this to me.'"
Collectively, the papers provide an interesting social commentary on a different time. They provide insight into what was considered "newsworthy" and what was deemed "important" before 9/11 and the Great Recession.
The papers also provide some insight into a certain mindset, speaking volumes about self-importance and entitlement. I mean, I can't think of anyone who would throw their weight around and brag about being an investment banker today. Can you?
Until next time, "That's life..."

For this week's illustration, I created a "word cloud" based on one of my all-time favorite quotations. It is, as Virginia Woolf so eloquently said, "If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people."
Given recent news about authors who allegedly fabricated material in well-known books chronicling personal experiences, I couldn't think of a better quotation or subject for discussion.
In order to properly frame said discussion however, I must first review the differences between memoir, autobiography and fact-based novels.
While memoir and autobiography are both non-fiction, there is a significant difference between the genres. Generally speaking, a memoir chronicles a certain period or aspect of the author's life. An autobiography is devoted to the author's entire life.
On the other hand, fact-based novels, or novels "based on true experiences" are exactly that. Consequently, authors of such novels can take certain liberties with character and plot development.
Those of us who have written memoirs and autobiographies don't have the same leeway. For memoirists, it is especially important to remain faithful to the truth no matter what. We must be brutally honest not only with our readers, but with ourselves. Trust me, I speak from experience.
In my memoir, I was incredibly honest not only about my experience with my ex, but about myself. Because I chose to be truthful about my life, some critics have said my memoir lacks conflict, a "story arc" and "character development." Others have said I included too much mundane detail.
Well, let's be honest. For most of us, life is boring and mundane. Daily drudgery is just that. Frankly there was nothing extraordinary about my life whatsoever until my former-husband's revelation turned it upside down. And although I endured a tremendous betrayal at his hands, there wasn't a lot of conflict between us even after he shared his secret.
I suppose some readers would expect me to invent these details to satisfy their expectations. But the bottom line is that an award-winning journalist, I never manipulated the facts to sensationalize an issue and as an author I refused to manipulate the facts of my own life just to make my book more "marketable" or "entertaining." After all, I wrote a memoir, not a novel based on true experiences.
Neither I nor my ex-husband, nor anyone else in my memoir are "characters" that had to be developed. I made a conscious decision not to cheapen my life experience by writing "true fiction" that could be bent and twisted to appeal to the masses.
Apparently a North Korean prison camp survivor who recently confessed to lying about some details in a best-selling book about his life wasn't inclined to hold himself to the same standards.
Neither, apparently, was a teenager who recently admitted that the events in his memoir, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, never occurred. In published reports, the teen, who co-wrote the book with his father, said he fabricated the story in order to get attention.
In one case, the publisher announced that it will stop selling the book. In the other, the North Korean prison camp survivor said he is now considering ending his human rights campaign. In any case I hope their stories serve as stark reminders that every action has consequences.
As for me, I have no regrets and I make no apologies. As the great William Shakespeare put it, "To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."
Until next time, "That's life..."