I Regret Almost Everything

Explore the significance of McNally’s first person voice and tone. Which tonal registers does he employ, and to what effect? For example, how would McNally’s story and themes differ if he had not incorporated humor or self-deprecation?

Compare and contrast McNally’s marriages to Lynn and Alina. How does McNally represent these relationships on the page, and to what effect? How would McNally’s account differ if he were to have omitted these dynamics from the page?

Analyze how McNally uses humor and self-deprecation as coping mechanisms in I Regret Almost Everything. To what extent do these techniques shape readers’ perceptions of his personal struggles and public persona?

McNally’s memoir explores the distinct magic of 1970s New York culture. Analyze the role of this setting and time period to McNally’s Search for Meaning and Purpose. How would a different temporal setting or geographical location have impacted McNally’s quest differently?

Compare and contrast McNally’s memoir to another confessional, celebrity memoir. For example, what narrative, tonal, literary, and thematic overlaps or divergences do you notice between I Regret Almost Everything and a title like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly?

Identify three symbols in the text that are not listed in the study guide and analyze their significance to McNally’s self-discovery journey. For example, what literary or thematic role do images like the catalpa trees, cycling, or Allen Farm play in McNally’s Search for Meaning and Purpose?

Compare and contrast McNally’s identity as a restaurateur to his identity as a father. Do these roles inform or compete with one another? How do McNally’s vocational and paternal depictions complicate his self-discovery journey on the page?

Analyze the impact of McNally’s childhood and adolescence in England on his adult life. What role did his upbringing, class, parents, and schooling play on his understanding of himself and his quest for fulfillment? What does this exchange between the past and present suggest about the individual’s personal history?