“In one sense, it’s refreshing to shape the experience into a narrative that brings out the humanity of those involved, but reaching back into that regrettable decade-and-a-half has been a struggle at times as well.”

“I really wasn’t sure if the essay would work as well on the page, but it’s fun for me to read aloud, and I edited the sentences and lines with that oral delivery in mind.”

"I was captivated by the charisma of the wrestlers, the gaudy costumes, the grandiosity of the ring, the stage, the event, which was such an escape from small-town Iowa, where I was raised."

"The only way I could approach it with any validity was from the perspective I have now: distant, detached, but still able to marvel."

“Reading slows time down. It puts my brain back together.”

"Some days I felt like a writing genius; other days I felt like an utter dumbass."

"Don’t try to write a good story. Just write what’s true. A true story is a good story."

"If I slowed myself down, I could process what it meant to confuse memories with hauntings and hauntings with the creaks of an older home.