The New Symptoms Book is Here!
If you will pardon my promotional strongarming, I really must insist that you consider this inspiring book purchase. Substack posts may come and go, but only print material can provide the papercuts that stand the test of time.
This is the long-threatened collection of expatriate musings on the comparative psychological conditions of Germany and the United States, complete with adorable cartoon renderings. The book addresses my adjustment to life in the fatherland, of course, but first and foremost, it is a meditation on what it means to be an American - the Twinkie-stuffed, faith-healed, title-loaned state of existence that drives US citizens to Wellbutrin and sensitivity training.
Or drives them out of the country. But as I can tell you from my experience as a stranger in a sane land, you can take the boy out of the K-Mart, but you can never take the blue light special out of the boy.
An American Embarrassed is 104 pages of thought-provoking hilarity, culled from The Symptoms archives and published in the Thrdgll Library’s handy vest-pocket format. Easy to keep with you at all times for easy reference and recital. It’s the book that will make all the peoples of the world proud to be an American, when such a nation can produce art so profound, such as this book or those great John Wick movies.
Catch the feeling: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ashley-holt/an-american-embarrassed/paperback/product-6gnzjk.html?q&page=1&pageSize=4&fbclid=IwAR3SpZ7C8oR7lOHLObjc3QX8zSVZAUQt6RVVdI4x1s6g131nn4tybCHwehE
(And let’s not forget Ashley’s website, jam-packed with portraits and other drawings, his highly-affordable prints and books currently available, his eagerness for your portrait commission, and his contact email, thrdgll@gmail.com, where he longs to hear from you.)