Before I begin this Thoughts from Life, let me tell you two things about myself. I have listened to many autobiographies because I enjoy hearing about someone’s life from their point of view. Biographies tell you about someone’s life from the outside. Autobiographies are like diary entrees and biographies are like book reports. Before I go too far about this subject, I will tell you the other thing about myself. I dislike talking about religion or religious subjects. My atheism is the main reason for this. The two subjects relate to one another when someone talks about religion or religious subjects in their autobiography. When I hear someone using religious language in the audio sample of their autobiography, I know that audiobook is not for me.
What constitutes talking about religion? My definition is talking about any supernatural happenings as if they are actual happenings. This includes references to God, spirituality, astrology, psychics, praying, fate, destiny, the soul, ghosts, and anything else that has its origins in religion or religious practices. I understand that even an autobiography that is not religious is going to have references to some of these things occasionally, but more than a word here and there is what I’m referring to. The author can talk about being in a church or having religious parents. If it is information about where they were and what they were doing, I’m fine with it. When people talk about their beliefs, I tune them out. That requires another paragraph to explain.
Talking about your beliefs has nothing to do with your life story. An autobiography is the story of the events of your life. Your beliefs take you into a church, but I only want to hear about you going into a church. You can talk about the other people in the church, their behavior, or any other thing that is happening. Beliefs are temporary guesses about the world. I believe I need a jacket until I find out it’s 90 degrees and sunny outside. Talking about the sunny day is part of your story. Your beliefs before you experience the sunny day are irrelevant. If you must believe something to experience it, it is a fantasy in your head at most. Hearing about someone’s dreams can be part of their story, but hearing their interpretation of the dreams relevance in their life is not. Dreams can tell you about what is going on in your life. They are not predictions of your future.
Many times, I have skipped religious sections of autobiographies or stopped listening all together if too many of these sections appear. This is truly annoying when the author waits until the end of their book to get religious. Getting religious at the end of your autobiography happens so often that I know a book is ending when the author starts using religious language. I guess at the end of your autobiography you think about the end of your life. For many people, this means thinking about an afterlife and loved ones they have lost. “Waxing poetic” at the end of your autobiography just seems cheesy and false. My favorite autobiographies end with people looking forward to the rest of their lives. Many people have written several autobiographies throughout their lives. These are usually people who enjoy writing and have kept a diary throughout their lives, as I have.
Some of my favorite authors are David Sedaris, Jenny Lawson, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Trevor Noah, Augusten Burroughs, Ellen DeGeneres, Caitlin Moran, Miranda Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Carrie Fisher, Sarah Silverman, Kevin Hart, Kevin Smith, Mindy Kaling, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, and Richard Ayoade. These are just the autobiographies I remember as being entertaining. Some of them had religious ends, but at least most of the books were religion free. I have listened to non-comedy writers, but they are never as entertaining as the humorous ones. They are also more likely to be peppered with religious language. I’d rather just hear their story.
Thoughts from Life 
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