By Megan Thomas
The byline, ‘One Woman’s Search For Connection Online’, does a lot in the way of summary: this is former Guardian culture writer Harriet Gibsone’s memoir, which not only covers her career as a music journalist, but specifically her experience ‘coming of age’ in the early days of the internet.
MSN messenger and hobby-based chat forums filled with strangers made Gibsone feel like there was more than just an echo to be heard back from the void – not just people who liked the same things as her, but people that she could actually connect with online and in some cases, meet in person. As someone of the later millennial generation where this is widely perceived as crazily unsafe behaviour, by Gibsone’s account this seems like an era in which not enough was known to be truly cautious. Certainly, there was the knowledge that it was happening in the safety of her bedroom, behind a screen which could be switched off. She would use these platforms to project whatever version of herself she wanted to – an older, more sexual version who could curate opinions and personas.
Despite the degree of physical protection offered by an online existence, in the real world, she was in particularly unhealthy and/or obsessive romantic relationships, and turned to an eating disorder and alcohol to keep a semblance of control (or willful lack thereof). The more chaotic the real world felt, the more comforting the online one became. And the real world eventually turned inside-out in her 30s, when she learnt she had premature ovarian insufficiency.
Gibsone is someone who, when I read her professional credentials, seemed a suitably famous person to write a memoir. But I think anyone who has read a number of memoirs will know, this is hardly enough to make it one worth reading. As it were, Gibsone has had a fascinating life, intertwined with the music industry which in itself offers plenty of interest, but also on a personal level. Her ability for introspection is a gift to us, who can read Is This OK as if turning the pages of an acquaintance’s diary.
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