I AM MY BIGGEST STRANGER

Dee blends memoir, spiritual commentary, and literary analysis in this debut memoir.

While bedridden after a car accident in the 2020s,the author stumbled upon the opening lines of an English translation of Dante Alighieri’s Inferno: “Midway upon the journey of our life, I found myself within a dark wood, for I had lost the right path.” “Those words didn’t just hit me—they found me,” Dee writes, adding that the poem “became the metaphor that matched my own soul’s journey.” Thematically, the volume follows the plot of the classic work as the author parallels his personal struggles with Hell’s initial levels involving lust and gluttony (which Dee extends to any dysregulated desire and “endless hunger that consumes without satisfaction”) to the deep pit of treachery, a section in which he tells of betraying his wedding vows to his wife. The book’s poignant, memoiristic vignettes share Dee’s descent into his own version of Hell—including times when he was unhoused and had an “addiction to pleasure” as the organizer of parties in New York City that catered to Wall Street executives. He also addresses his subsequent rededication to the Christian faith of his childhood, describing God as “the One who transforms hearts.” Along the way, he provides literary commentary and historical context to help unfamiliar readers understand the references and meaning behind Dante’s iconic poetry. This deeply personal story also provides readers with prayers, Bible verses, and inspirational quotes, as well as pragmatic Christian-themed advice to those lost in their own dark woods. In a discussion of the “Validation Trap,” for instance, Dee argues against an unhealthy quest for validation based on performance and insecurity and instead proposes an alternative “Healthy Validation” that comes “from God and self-worth.” The book’s underlying theology reflects a distinctly evangelical Protestant approach, but its writing is broadly ecumenical, and Dee is aware that he “does not offer all the answers” to the mysteries of life.

An earnest, distinctly Christian blend of memoir, self-help, and poetry.