SKU: 2145297309

Damage Control: A Memoir of Outlandish Privilege, Loss and Redemption

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Damage Control: A Memoir of Outlandish Privilege, Loss and RedemptionA powerful blazingly honest memoir told with humor and panache about a mother and son finding each other again after years of estrangement. A coming of age story of outrageous excess, glamour, entitlement and grand delusion, lived above the fray and over the top. A gay man's journey through the joys and perils of his generation, coming out in the early eighties in the shadow of a terrifying of disease that would devastate so many, surviving tremendous

A powerful blazingly honest memoir told with humor and panache about a mother and son finding each other again after years of estrangement. A coming-of-age story of outrageous excess, glamour, entitlement and grand delusion, lived above the fray and over the top. A gay man's journey through the joys and perils of his generation, coming out in the early eighties in the shadow of a terrifying of disease that would devastate so many, surviving tremendous loss and culminating in his decision to adopt a child as a single parent.

When Sergei, a psychotherapist who has been living in Paris for the past decade, discovers that his mother is terminally ill, he decides to leave his practice and his life to be by her side, in the hope of healing the bitterness and discord before it is too late. Alternating between a narrative of Dollsie's last months as she battles cancer, interwoven with poignant and hilarious and at times shocking scenes from their outlandishly privileged lives, DAMAGE CONTROL is a story about exile and loss, searching and escape. From the mountain villages of Gstaad, Switzerland, to New York and Miami and Cuba, the narrator revisits the chateaux and chalets of his childhood, exploring the emotional and geographical landscapes of a mother and son whose lives are revealed to be poignant parallels of each other. After avoiding his mother for a lifetime, seeking shelter from her destructiveness and her drinking and her rage, Sergei comes face-to-face with this narcissistic woman confronting mortality for the first time, and through his own experiences as an activist and a therapist and a man who has faced his own mortality at young age, he helps her to come to terms with all her guilt and regrets and fear of dying.

This memoir offers a fascinating and disturbing portrayal of a glamorous woman whose life has been one of great elegance and luxury, along with disillusionment, grandiosity, seduction and self-destruction: her childhood in pre-Castro Cuba, a mythical island paradise; her marriage at the age of eighteen to a dashing young Swiss man and their subsequent exile; her frantic and desperate resolve to create a mythical life of her own and pass on the traditions of aristocracy to her children, all the while leading a double life and suffering feelings of intense longing and frustration and guilt which eventually cause her to destroy and walk away from everything that she has been raised to want and expect out of life.

DAMAGE CONTROL is ultimately a rendering of the cycle of life, saying goodbye to a parent so you can say hello to a child, and finding grace and redemption through a mother's love.


Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Carol Mann Agency
Published: 04/08/2014
ISBN: 9780786755844
Pages: 296
Weight: 0.88lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d
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SKU: 2145297309

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Allison Stitt
Phoenix, US
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This is a must have!
Size: Upgrade Queen (2 Pack)
One of my favorite purchases! I love that you can take stuffing out as needed. My husband kept majority of his in because he likes a full pillow. I prefer a flatter, soft pillow so I took out probably half of the stuffing. We both love them!
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Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2026
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mikecube
Los Angeles, US
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Excellent pillow.
Size: Upgrade Queen (2 Pack)
Wow these pillows are fantastic!!! First off they are good quality and sized as described. I'm forced to sleep on my back since I use a cpap every night. They suggest taking some filling out for "back sleepers". But in my case, I am disabled, overweight, and the way I position myself on a pillow is probably unique. I have a little of my shoulders, head and neck on the pillow. I didn't have to remove any filling. It was pretty good at first and after about a few day/nights, everything settled in just perfectly. It's truly one the finest pillows I've owned to date. (Part of my disability is a very painful neck & muscle malady, my head leans far to the right. Basically feels like a crick in your neck that never goes away. It's called tortacollis or dystonia depending who you talk to.) Because of this, I have truly spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on different types and styles of pillows. A very select few have worked out fairly well over time until I found this one. As I said in the beginning, this is an excellent pillow and a great value as well. Hopefully this will work as well or even better for others. I purchased a 2 pack this time, 1 for home and the other for our RV. Definitely buying. another 2 pack to keep for future replacements. Pillows simply don't last forever. They get funky in time. No matter how clean you try to stay with bedding and personal hygiene, it just happens eventually. Sweet dreams. :~)
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Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2025
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Tiffany Vela
Battle Creek, US
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Size: Upgrade Queen (2 Pack)
Incredibly thick and firm pillows. Not great for stomach or side sleepers. They alway end up on the floor cause we find them uncomfortable. Don’t recommend, practically unusable
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Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2025
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Mopardodgegirl
Cuba, US
β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 5
It works! Quality pillow.
Size: Standard (1 Count), Color: Original White (Cooling)
This does actually provide a cooling effect, and it's very comfortable! The accompanying literature is helpful too. I believe this to be a quality pillow for the price.
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jin
Waukegan, US
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Most comfortable pillow I’ve ever slept on
Size: Queen (1 Count), Color: Crescent White(cooling)
This is the most comfortable pillow I have ever slept on. It doesn't mash down like other pillows. Cradles my neck perfectly plus it’s cool. I broke my neck a couple of years ago and this pillow feels very good and comfortable. Definitely recommend to everyone. Ive used it since May and it’s retained its shape.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2026

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