The Profile Dossier: David Sedaris, the Writer Fusing Humor with Pain

“Everything’s funny eventually.”

“Everything’s funny eventually.”

It may take days, months, or years, but humorist David Sedaris says the day will come when you’re able to laugh about it. He has become a master at turning pain into humor. As one reporter put it, “He says the quiet parts out loud.”

When he’s in a traumatic situation — such as getting tested for cancer — he reminds himself that he can write about this later. Writing becomes a refuge.

“You should celebrate if you get fired from a job or if your house catches on fire, or you lose a limb that’s not your writing arm,” he says in his MasterClass. “Make the most of it.”

And Sedaris is no stranger to darkness. His mom died suddenly during treatment for lung cancer and his sister Tiffany committed suicide in 2013. He wrote an essay about the family’s complicated relationship with Tiffany titled, ‘Now We Are Five.’

In an interview about his sister, Sedaris says, “I could not have saved Tiffany. If you don't want to take your medication, there's nothing anyone can do. There's not a single day that I don't think about her, though. She was a remarkable person.”

Sedaris has had an illustrious career as a humorist and best-selling author, but he had a long road to where he is today. He held a number of odd jobs, from working at I-HOP to dressing up as an elf at Macy’s. He drank, he did drugs, and he smoked cigarettes, which he has largely given up.

But there was one constant in his life: Writing. He recorded his observations in his daily diary for decades, which became his refuge. It was that diary that served as inspiration for many of his popular personal essays, including, SantaLand Diaries, Now We Are Five, and Letting Go.

Here’s what we can learn from one of the preeminent humorists of our time about the power of observation, navigating difficult familial relationships, and living a full life.

(Photo Credit: Anne Fishbein)

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