The Library Vault

By Lena Dunham

Let’s set the scene. It’s Brooklyn circa 2012, when craft beer was the king of kings, people had mustache tattoos on their fingers and polka dots transformed the manic pixie girls into fashion icons. Chunky necklaces and bright colors absorbed women’s bodies, which resembled a sense of hope. Obama was in his second term, we had bypassed the recession and there seemed to be a promise for millennial generation. As the events unfolded, a television show aired on HBO known as Girls. 

The Girls pilot has gone down in history as one of television’s best pilots. It is a cringey, riveting and authentic microscope into a slice of young adulthood. The creator of the show is Lena Dunham. Some viewers call Girls the millennial answer to Sex in the City. Instead of Manhattan, it was Brooklyn. It consisted of four female friends trying to navigate their lives. Unlike Carrie Bradshaw, these women were in their twenties. Let me tell you, your twenties are much different than your thirties. Sex and the City was like the refined part 2, and Lena Dunham gave the viewers the messy part 1. I am not stating Sex in the City wasn’t messy, because it was. There is just the unknowing in your twenties, the newness, and the first mess rather than a refined mess. 

Lena Dunham’s television show brought a rawness to the screen. It did not sugar coat the harsh realities that young women are faced with while navigating your twenties and bridging into adulthood. Whatever is “adulthood,” exactly? I am still trying to figure that one out. Girls hit a cord. I watched it when it first aired and then recently rewatched it. It was a completely different experience. Lena Dunham created a television show that has redefined history, redefined womanhood, and now has brought a sense of nostalgia back to the television screen. Now you are probably thinking, why is she going on and on about a television show? Isn’t this blog about books and wine? Well, just bear with me a little bit longer. It is setting the stage for Famesick.

Dunham is not new to writing memoirs. Her first memoir, Not that Kind of Girl, was also a huge success. Famesick is continuing the train that Dunham first rode. She took a few stops, but got back on and is ready to bring another reality to her words, rather than the screen. 

Famesick is Lena Dunham’s latest memoir and considered a buzzy book. I personally listened to the audiobook because she was narrating. When the author narrates, especially when it is a memoir, it adds a deeper connection with the author. It is their words coming the life in your ears. As a reader, you are just another person riding their train observing as it coasts along on the tracks. 

I delved into the television show, because this is what made Lena Dunham, Lena Dunham. Girls was a critical to what Lena discusses in her memoir. Since Girls was such a success, it was also what made her take a couple stops off that train. Girls led her into her “famesick.”

I had a different idea of how Dunham was going to write her memoir. I made assumptions. What happens when you assume? I think you know the rest. Famesick is much more than the creation of Girls. It was peeling back the layers and understanding the turmoil Lena’s body had procured over the last decade. Lena was in and out of hospital rooms trying the find the right diagnosis to her health. It was more than her health, that was the backdrop. Lena ripped her soul open for the world to see the relationships she held with people. Not only romantically but friendships, family, coworkers and the people of the film industry.  

The world kept turning around her, while Lena was trying her best to understand herself and her body. But what she put out in the world, came back to her tenfold. Fame is not easy, Lena was on this train where drugs were prescribed as a bandaid rather than a cure. After each bandaid, was a lonely ride in a train car. It was an isolation. Was fame really worth it? 

Lena Dunham takes the reader on this journey of fame and rips off the bandaid. Lena tells her story earnestly and points the mirror back at herself. It seems like writing it down was a cathartic experience and healing parts of her still. Lena carries herself forward and tries to bring forth the great wisdom of trying to love yourself.

Lena has been exploring herself. Since she was medicated for an extensive period of time, I do not think pairing an alcoholic wine is appropriate. There are many alternatives to alcohol and they are trending. The non-alcoholic movement is here. It could be a mocktail or beer and even wine. I will be frank, I do not drink many non-alcoholic wines; however, the few I have come across, I think this is the best one. Shania Sparkling is a Spanish Verdejo non-alcoholic wine.

This begs the question, how can a wine be non-alcoholic when it is fermented grapes? Wine can be “dealcoholized.” It is literally how it sounds. The alcohol is removed from the wine. It may leave potentially 0.5% of alcohol in the wine. Not completely alcohol free. It is a process. It is like a reverse osmosis; however, stripping away the alcohol also strips away compounds to the wine. These components give the wine its unique characteristics to where they are grown and define the terroir. Many winemakers find this concept of deconstructing the wine unacceptable. However, we are entering into a new world with alcohol. The younger generations are drinking less and it gives alternatives to people who do not want to be under the influence. 

The buzz around this book also comes with the buzz around alternatives to alcohol. This is a budding field, regardless of the push back from the winemakers. However, I think it is a nice option. Lena Dunham’s memoir is a bit like deconstructed wine. Lena needed to remove all parts of herself to write transparently. She stripped her soul open on the page to let the readers bare her truth from her perspective, but landing on the bigger picture. Cheers to Lena, showing her truth and deconstructing the concept of fame. It really can just make you sick.