Politixia
Before he became a well-known stand-up comedian, Gary Gulman was a kid wandering the Northshore Mall.”My mother worked at a Hallmark store,” Gulman recalls. “From 4 o’clock until they closed, I would roam the mall by myself.”The Peabody native says those hours helped shape the person — and performer — he would become.”I feel like what my comedy act is now is me at the mall when I was 8 and 9,” he said.Gulman explores those formative years in his memoir, “Misfit: Growing Up Awkward in the ’80s,” and his one-man show, “Grandiloquent.” The book traces his life from kindergarten through high school, drawing on what he describes as an unusually vivid memory.”I remember my teachers and classmates so clearly,” he says. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”Writing has been part of Gulman’s life almost as long as comedy. In second grade, he wrote a story called The Lonely Tree — a thinly veiled reflection of his own childhood loneliness.”The tree grew tall from its tears,” he says with a laugh. “Then it became the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and everyone loved it.”The memoir also revisits more difficult chapters, including his struggles with depression — a topic Gulman has discussed openly in his stand-up specials.”The easy part has been sharing it,” he says. “The hard part was going through it.”Today, he regularly hears from readers who say his honesty helped them navigate their own challenges.”I hear from someone every day,” Gulman says. “And I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Before he became a well-known stand-up comedian, Gary Gulman was a kid wandering the Northshore Mall.
“My mother worked at a Hallmark store,” Gulman recalls. “From 4 o’clock until they closed, I would roam the mall by myself.”
The Peabody native says those hours helped shape the person — and performer — he would become.
“I feel like what my comedy act is now is me at the mall when I was 8 and 9,” he said.
Gulman explores those formative years in his memoir, “Misfit: Growing Up Awkward in the ’80s,” and his one-man show, “Grandiloquent.” The book traces his life from kindergarten through high school, drawing on what he describes as an unusually vivid memory.
“I remember my teachers and classmates so clearly,” he says. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”
Writing has been part of Gulman’s life almost as long as comedy. In second grade, he wrote a story called The Lonely Tree — a thinly veiled reflection of his own childhood loneliness.
“The tree grew tall from its tears,” he says with a laugh. “Then it became the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and everyone loved it.”
The memoir also revisits more difficult chapters, including his struggles with depression — a topic Gulman has discussed openly in his stand-up specials.
“The easy part has been sharing it,” he says. “The hard part was going through it.”
Today, he regularly hears from readers who say his honesty helped them navigate their own challenges.
“I hear from someone every day,” Gulman says. “And I couldn’t be more grateful.”
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