The vice president of PETA describes the high-profile and often incendiary awareness-raising events that have marked his career, from the demonstration during which he dressed like a carrot to promote vegetarianism only to have farming children throw bologna slices at him, to his attack on a GM Rose Parade float to protest their use of animals in crash tests. 40,000 first printing.

Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir

Biographies & Memoirs

Mathews, Dan

Leaders & Notable People

Atria

Committed is a bold, offbeat, globe-trotting memoir that shows how the most ridiculed punching bag in high school became an internationally renowned crusader for the most downtrodden individuals of all - animals. This irresistibly entertaining book recounts the unorthodox coming-of-age that inspired a reluctant party boy to devote his life to a cause, without ever abandoning his sense of mischief and fun. Mathews is the irreverent force behind the colorful crusades carried out by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), making animal rights the "it" cause with campaigns involving nude protestors, odd costumes, and celebrities as diverse as Pamela Anderson and Sir Paul McCartney. With self-deprecating wit and candor, he reveals the edgy details of his outrageous career, which has found him arrested naked on the streets of Hong Kong, dressed as a carrot outside grade schools in Iowa (where he was pelted with luncheon meats), and impersonating a priest to crash a fashion show in Milan. From the rock scene in Hollywood and London to the inner sanctums of New York high fashion and from jails in Boston to a psychiatric ward in Paris, Committed spotlights the adventures life can offer when you don't abandon your ideals and imagination with your youth.

"Exquisite. Full of wry humor, tenderness, and compassion." --Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author A hilarious and heartbreaking memoir about an outlandish mother and son on an odyssey of self-discovery, and the rag-tag community that rallied to help them as the mother entered the final phase of her life. Dan Mathews knew that his witty, bawdy, unhinged mother, Perry, was unable to maintain her fierce independence at seventy-eight--so he flew her across the country to Virginia to live with him in an 1870 townhouse badly in need of repairs. But to Dan, a screwdriver is a cocktail not a tool, and he was soon overwhelmed with two fixer-uppers: the house and his mother. Unbowed, Dan and Perry built a rollicking life together fueled by costume parties, road trips, after-hours gatherings, and an unshakeable sense of humor as they faced down hurricanes, blizzards, and Perry's steady decline. They got by with the help of an ever-expanding circle of sidekicks--Dan's boyfriends (past and present), ex-cons, sailors, strippers, deaf hillbillies, evangelicals, and grumpy cats--while flipping the parent-child relationship on its head. But it wasn't until a kicking-and-screaming trip to the emergency room that Dan discovered the cause of his mother's unpredictable, often caustic behavior: Perry had lived her entire adult life as an undiagnosed schizophrenic. Irreverent and emotionally powerful, Like Crazy is a darkly comic tale about the perils and rewards of taking in a fragile parent without derailing your life in the process. A rare story about mental illness with an uplifting conclusion, it shows the remarkable growth that takes place when a wild child settles down to care for the wild woman who raised him.

Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends

LGBTQ+ Books

Atria Books

Product Description 
“Exquisite. Full of wry humor, tenderness, and compassion.” —Jeannette Walls, New York Times bestselling author\nA hilarious and heartbreaking memoir about a mother and son’s outlandish odyssey of self-discovery, and the rag-tag community that rallied to help them when they needed it most.\nDan Mathews knew that his witty, bawdy seventy-eight year-old mother, Perry, was unable to maintain her fierce independence—so he flew her across the country to Virginia to live with him in an 1870 townhouse badly in need of repairs. But to Dan, a screwdriver is a cocktail not a tool, and he was soon overwhelmed with two fixer-uppers: the house and his mother.\nUnbowed, Dan and Perry built a rollicking life together fueled by costume parties, road trips, and an unshakeable sense of humor as they faced down hurricanes, blizzards, and Perry’s steady decline. They got by with the help of an ever-expanding circle of sidekicks—Dan’s boyfriends (past and present), ex-cons, sailors, strippers, deaf hillbillies, evangelicals, and grumpy cats—while flipping the parent-child relationship on its head.\nBut it wasn’t until a kicking-and-screaming trip to the emergency room that Dan discovered the cause of his mother’s unpredictable, often caustic behavior: undiagnosed schizophrenia.\nIrreverent and emotionally powerful, 
Like Crazy is a “journey to self-acceptance and ultimately finding love” (Alan Cumming) and shows the remarkable growth that takes place when a wild child settles down to care for the wild woman who raised him. 
 Review 
“ 
Like Crazy is exquisite. Full of wry humor, tenderness, and compassion.” –Jeannette Walls, bestselling author of 
The 
Glass Castle\n"Dan Mathews writes with such wit and tenderness about his mother's descent into previously undiagnosed schizophrenia. But that’s not all: this book is also about his journey to self-acceptance and ultimately finding love. I couldn’t recommend it more." –Alan Cumming\n“Mathews conveys potentially heavy and gut-wrenching family crises with page-turning style and heaps of wit. This tender, beautifully written celebration of familial love will resonate with readers.” — 
Publishers Weekly (starred review)\n"As a psychologist who has worked with schizophrenia on a daily basis for the last 12 years, I found Dan Mathews' book nothing short of astonishing—just like his mother's life. He tells her story in a way that conveys the gravity of severe mental illness, but also captures the dizzying absurdity and even humor that came with caring for his mother and loving her. A poignant and beautiful book." —Richard Weiss, Supervising Psychologist, Los Angeles County\n"A deeply compassionate and occasionally hilarious look at what it means to care for a parent as they enter the last phase of life." — 
Real Simple, Best Books of 2020\n"Poignant, readable, and even fun despite the dark moments." — 
Kirkus 
 About the Author 
Dan Mathews was born and raised in Orange County, California, by a single mother who encouraged her three boys to bring home stray animals. In high school, he was beaten up for being gay and credits those rough times with helping him develop the thick skin needed to be an animal activist. He spent two years in Italy working as a fashion model and bit-part actor before returning to the US to earn a degree in history from American University in Washington, DC. Shortly afterwards, he began working at PETA as a receptionist and within a year was organizing protests. As PETA’s Director of Campaigns, he helps increase awareness of the rights of animals through high-profile events. He has been arrested for his activities more than twenty times but usually gets released from jail within a day. Through a unique combination of sex, humor, and glamour, he has turned animal rights into one of the hottest causes of the last two decades. 
 Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 
Chapter 1: Overwhelmed in Olde Towne\nChapter 1 OV

Dan Mathews knew that his witty, bawdy, unhinged mother, Perry, was unable to maintain her fierce independence at seventy-eight -- so he flew her across the country to Virginia to live with him in an 1870 townhouse badly in need of repairs. But to Dan, a screwdriver is a cocktail not a tool, and he was soon overwhelmed with two fixer-uppers: the house and his mother.

Like Crazy: Life With My Mother and Her Invisible Friends

Center Point Pub

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mathews, Dan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mathews, Dan

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mathews, Dan. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir

Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir

Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends

Like Crazy: Life with My Mother and Her Invisible Friends

Like Crazy: Life With My Mother and Her Invisible Friends