Fade Out

by Kayleen Schaefer

Fade Out was named one of the best Kindle Singles of the year by Amazon.At 28, writer Kayleen Schaefer's brother was one of the most promising young filmmakers in Hollywood, having shot to success as the writer and director of "Chapter 27," starring future Oscar-winner Jared Leto as John Lennon’s killer Mark David Chapman. Then, five years later, to the surprise of those closest to him, he left it all behind—abandoning his career, his family and his life, without telling anyone where he was going. ‪With only a vague idea of where he might be, Schaefer went looking for her kid brother, embarking on a journey that would take her all the way to Mazatlán, Mexico, to learn why he left and, in doing so, discover who she was without him. Kayleen Schaefer is a journalist who writes for Vogue, New York, The New York Times, ELLE, The New Yorker, Lucky, ESPN the Magazine, BuzzFeed, and many other publications. Her website is kayleenschaefer.com.Cover design by David Drummond.

Genres: Nonfiction

51 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 13, 2015

About the author

Kayleen Schaefer is a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and many other publications.

Reviews

[Camille Garcia]

Boring. No climax or excitement.

The storyline never gets exciting, and the ending just left you almost thinking they forgot the last chapters to finish the sptry

[Tyler]

Great read!

Great, heartfelt story of a sister’s connection to her brother. This piece shows that sometimes life’s wisdom comes in the grey shades of experience.

[Michelle Reilly]

Heartbreaking but too scattered for me.

[Chris]

had promise, with a few genuinely good moments, but ultimately seemed self-serving and empty

[The Idle Woman]

How far would you go to find your sibling? When she was little, Kayleen Schaefer was best friends with her brother Jarrett. They were inseparable, bound together against their parents and the world. As they grew up, their bond continued: they lived together in New York for a dizzying, brilliant time as Schaefer began to establish herself as a journalist and Jarrett embarked on his directorial debut, the film Chapter 27. But then, after Chapter 27 had come out, something started to change in Jarrett. He’d already moved to the West Coast, but rather than buying into the Hollywood lifestyle he seemed to be getting further and further away from it. Schaefer found herself losing touch with the brother who had always seemed a part of herself. He seemed to be deliberately reacting against the life of comfortable success that everyone had been imagining for him. And then, one day, he simply disappeared.

This is the story of Schaefer’s efforts to find her brother – not just geographically, but emotionally. Wondering whether perhaps she never really knew him as well as she’d imagined, she seeks out those who shared other parts of his life: schoolfriends, New York pals and, because this is a Hollywood story, she drops a line to Jared Leto, who starred in the controversial Chapter 27 (and who comes out of the story as a thoroughly nice guy). Slowly the story begins to take shape and Schaefer must then decide what to do. Should she respect Jarrett’s desire to disappear, or should she try to track him down? A moving tale about families, love and the desire to forge one’s own way in the world – with more than a hint, at times, of Stevie Smith’s Not Waving But Drowning, as we see behind the superficial mask of success.

For this review and other reviews of bite-sized books, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/04/28/b...

[Airy Peña-Camacho]

Reseña corta para un audiolibro corto
Fade Out de Kayleen Schaefer trata de entregar una historia emotiva acerca de como la relación con su hermano fue desmoronándose poco a poco, y aunque hubo momentos que logran enfrascarte en la trama, el final le queda a deber al lector.
Lo positivo es que solo dura 1 hr y media, así que el tiempo que uno le dedica ni se siente.

Estoy bastante aliviada de que este libro estuviera incluido en mi suscripción mensual de Audible y no tuviera que pagar extra por el, de lo contrario me sentiría mas molesta que otra cosa.

2/5 estrellas

[Nancy Dunham]

I enjoyed the book. It’s well written and has a terrific story arc. I had a tough time with it, though, because I didn’t like her brother. He seemed both spoiled and somewhat ill. I am so sorry for her heartache though.

[Allison Gregory-Graff]

quick read! Sweet but confusing relationship with her brother. ends up being a really bizarre story (but worth telling).

[Elise G Gray]

Pandering

I don't wish to add hurtful details to my poor review so let my one star rating be your guide.

[Ryan Ceresnak]

Really a great little snippet of a memoir. Some of it is disjointed, but it reads more like a stream of consciousness, which I think is suitable for this situation. If I were in the author's shoes, I too would be reflecting back on my relationship with my brother while looking for him and gaining to understand why he left. We never truly find out why Jarrett left - I, like other readers, want to know more and seek to understand his motivation. But I don't think the author knows...and that's okay. What she discovers instead is who her brother really is, and what he's become...and a little bit about herself in the process.

[Nikki Presley]

The plot is weak and the words all feel repetitive. The story had no real climax or interesting builds in the writing. It was like being stuck in a room with that annoying person at a party droning on about a story you don't care about. The parts of the story that could have been interesting were never even explored.

[SweetAnnie]

Broke My Heart

This story was excellent and heartbreaking at the same time, because I, too, thought my brother was my best friend, then I lost him, but not because he died. In a way, that might have been easier. He just became someone I didn't know and who didn't want to know me.

[Erin Burns]

A feeling from every word

Anyone with a sibling, anyone whose been lost, anyone who has dreamt of running away, or has had the fear of losing it all, been afraid to live solely for the approval of and conversely, the disapproval of others, will feel this story. Schaefer's writing is just as effortless and real as it gets.

[Gil Straub]

Pointless

If you enjoy the inconsequential incoherent ramblings of a woman about whom you not possibly care less then this book is for you. Otherwise it is a total waste of time and money.

[TimeyWimeyBooks]

Read it on a plane. Sort of interesting but her writing style is a bit disjointed and the authors draws few conclusions at the end.

[Jennifer]

Interesting story, wish it had been longer with more depth.