A Sad History Of Beautiful Nostalgia: Skullburn '78

by Jason Myers

A Sad History Of Beautiful Nostalgia(Skullburn '78)From one of the most controversial writers of the decade, author of the seminal underground Exit Here, The Mission, and Run The Game, comes a disturbing, fascinating, and profoundly original story about the romance of nostalgia and the search for satisfaction in the present, about the eventual and inescapable addiction to falling in love, and the bittersweet compromises made in an effort to maintain it.Jason’s life is getting more absurd and messy by the minute. The once wildly popular author’s three year relationship with the beautiful Annie Robson, the only girl he’s ever continually fantasized about after sex, continues its death spiral of contrived volatility while his literary career has faded into a realm of irrelevancy even he can’t comprehend. Attempting to cope with this new, frightening, reality has meant the severe and dedicated consumption of booze, blow, and pills. It’s also begun to push him more and more into the sweet, warm arms of the brilliant and smashing, Renee, an eighteen year old college freshman in the city he’s convinced loves his books and characters more than she does him.With the final deadline to turn in the last draft of a disastrous new book less than a week away, Jason decides to lob a grenade at the project, choosing to crib an entirely new story out of the ashes of the old one. But as the long days begin to vanish and the story’s plot deepens, Jason becomes increasingly haunted and paranoid by his own violent past. While his friend’s, Annie, and Renee slowly begin to fade out of his life because of the suffocating isolation of his new timeline, a strange girl he once knew well in his past, slowly begins to emerge in his life, threating to annihilate everything and everyone he loves. Determined to prevent the total destruction of his life, Jason sets off on a new and horrifying journey. One that will take him to the hellish depths of the human soul and expose all of his incredibly dangerous and troubling secrets; a journey that will radically alter the core of his existence, leaving readers haunted and shocked with a truly unforgettable ending. A Sad History Of Beautiful Nostalgia, the sixth book by Jason Myers, is an unforgettable journey through the sordid week of a writer suffocating in his memories, a person completely lost in his own skin. It’s a book about the mandate of art and the role of the muse and the delicate balance between being an artist while trying to meet the expectations that come with the rest of your life. It’s also a book about how we handle the trauma in our lives, how we move forward-or if we ever do-and the importance of at least attempting to find a way to appreciate the greatness of the moment and the beauty of the now.

376 pages, Paperback

Published February 11, 2016

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Jason Myers was born in 1980 and raised on a farm ten miles outside of the small town of Dysart, Iowa. After
he graduated high school, he moved to San Francisco where he studied
film at the Academy of Art University. It was there, after taking a
Screenwriting 3 class that he met and studied under the inspiring instructor
and author James Dalessandro. James helped Myers grasp the value of
having great stories within the story and also the value of pacing. He also
taught him how to structure his stories in a way that made the reader feel
invested. Myers then sat down in early 2003 and began working on what
would become the first draft of Exit Here. He signed with literary agent
Gary Heidt and in 2005, at the age of 24, he signed a major publishing
deal with Simon & Schuster. Exit Here would go on to be released in May
of 2007 and thus far the book has sold over 90, 000 copies worldwide.
In 2010, Myers' second book, The Mission, also on Simon & Schuster,
was released worldwide. The book went into its third printing six months
after its release and has already sold nearly 30,000 copies to date. Myers
recently signed a new two book deal with Simon & Schuster. His next book,
Dead End, a Midwestern Gothic back roads chase thriller will be released on
6.14.2011 and his fourth book is set to be released in the Summer of
2012.

Myers continues to reside in San Francisco and writes full-time.

Reviews

[Nicole Loufas]

Jason continues to astound me. I've never wanted to quote a book as much I wanted to quote this one. I want to quote the hell out of this book. At times I had to hit pause to clear the crazy. Written in the manic mind of a writer, where real life, the world we create in our minds, and a disturbing past all fold together to create a very powerful story that leads to an emotional ending. One that I delayed for as long as I could. I enjoyed the story in the story. Every character was beautifully complex. Jason has a way of writing a character in a way that I picture exactly who they are the moment they appear on the page. I carried this book with me every where I went for the last two months. I read it on trains, buses, boats, in cars, on airplanes, at pools, in bars, coffee shops, my bed. I finally forced myself to shelf it and move on. Until the next time...

[Randi]

Pretentious, crude, and overall, the most eye roll worthy book I have read in a long time. I liked this author's books when I was a young teen, but the older I get, the more I see his books have nothing to offer except their attempts at being deep, edgy, and artsy (and failing). I hoped a memoir style book would be different, but it was even worse. Terrible writing, awful characters, bad story, nothing enjoyable.

[Ali Mark]

I don’t know how to justly review this book. You wrote this a long time ago… but I never got around to adding it to my shelves. And then one day, I said, “OK, I’m ready.” And so I bought the book, and I sat down to read it. I know this wasn’t an autobiography. I know that this wasn’t your life story playing out before my eyes. But I DO know, that you can’t write this way without having experienced some hurt. I’m sorry we never had the chance to talk this one out. I feel so blessed that you let me into your internet world, and you always welcomed reading my poetry. I don’t know how to read your words, this book in particular, without feeling your hurt. This one was hard to read. Hard to read because I knew a glimpse of you. I wish you were still here, sharing pictures of your pack, telling us about bands no one has ever heard of, and more importantly, breathing life in. No one could’ve ever imagined that this would be your last book you’d ever publish. But the hurt was there. I took pictures of two whole pages because those two whole pages will envelop the way I view hurt. I love you, @jasonmyersbooks and I hope you’re at peace.
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Read January 2024

[Maddy Van]

another killer book by one of my favorite authors. fucking gold

[Lisa]

I have read EVERY SINGLE Jason Mayers book! But this one was so gard to read. Honestly had to restart it a few times it's slow.

[Kendall]

Quotes so good give Palanuk a run for his money!