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Too Many Things Came to Nothing
Now you’re just a stranger with all my secrets.
139 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2022
16 people want to read
About the author
Cody Sexton
36 books93 followersCody Sexton is the managing editor for A Thin Slice of Anxiety. His work has been featured at The Indie View, Writer Shed Stories, The Diverse Perspective, Detritus, Revolution John, Due Dissidence, and As It Ought To Be Magazine where he is a regular contributor. In addition he is also a 2020 Best of the Net Nominee for his pioneering essay The Body of Shirley Ann Sexton.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 19, 2022
“They fuck you up your mum and dad, they may not mean to but they do…”
We come into life screaming and it only gets worse from there. Cody exhibits brutal honesty and makes himself vulnerable in order to speak his truth on a lifetime of hardships and suffering. He rules out no potential coping strategy, including drug addiction and suicide. He has acquired a talent for picking thoughtful, pithy titles as this and his other books attest.
TMTCTN opens up with a generous foreword from “fellow bastard” James Bergman who co-presents The Bastard Sons of Oedipus Youtube videos. He assures Cody that the scared little boy is gone and that he is now all man. Essays on childhood trauma, reading, antinatalism etc follow and then a set of short stories conclude matters. I appreciated the conflicted behaviour of the man half heartedly attempting to prevent a suicide in “Lying to Strangers.”
We come into life screaming and it only gets worse from there. Cody exhibits brutal honesty and makes himself vulnerable in order to speak his truth on a lifetime of hardships and suffering. He rules out no potential coping strategy, including drug addiction and suicide. He has acquired a talent for picking thoughtful, pithy titles as this and his other books attest.
TMTCTN opens up with a generous foreword from “fellow bastard” James Bergman who co-presents The Bastard Sons of Oedipus Youtube videos. He assures Cody that the scared little boy is gone and that he is now all man. Essays on childhood trauma, reading, antinatalism etc follow and then a set of short stories conclude matters. I appreciated the conflicted behaviour of the man half heartedly attempting to prevent a suicide in “Lying to Strangers.”
January 5, 2022
There definitely couldn’t be a better title for this piece, since after everything narrated throughout it, all the pain, the constant feeling of isolation, the suffering and the weight of feeling alone in the world, lead all to the same place, nowhere. Something that for some is a terrifying thought and therefore they insist in finding meaning in everything they do, clearly isn’t that way for Cody.
Throughout the read it becomes evident that Sexton isn’t afraid to explore harsh truths and go to some of the darkest places of human behaviour. Managing to do it in an extremely beautiful, yet heartbreaking way by using what he knows best, his own experience.
As I’ve implied above, this is an autobiographical piece, still I found it to be extremely relatable at various occasions, and maybe that’s why the following quote taken from the foreword written by James Bergman comes to mind:
“By reading someone else’s intimate personal experiences we can find ourselves relating to them in strange abstract ways that we would never have otherwise imagined.”
The writing within the piece felt fragile, as well as raw and honest. Every single essay and every single short story had a reason to be included in the piece. The structure itself added a pretty fascinating element to the piece, reminding me of the 'Coincidences' section of Story Of The Eye. Where you can see how the personal life of the author and what he’s gone through always projects into their fictional work, intended or not. I think you are always stuck inside the narrative you create for yourself, and there’s never a way out, not in life at least.
Pieces like this reinforce the idea that indeed, the world and the human race are nothing to be proud of. But at least there’s a few people out there that do know the meaning of critical thinking. Outsiders. People who are not only cursed with intelligence but sensibility as well. Being condemned to constant suffering, since they live in this kind of world. Sacrificing themselves for nothing in return, and Sexton is definitely one of them.
Throughout the read it becomes evident that Sexton isn’t afraid to explore harsh truths and go to some of the darkest places of human behaviour. Managing to do it in an extremely beautiful, yet heartbreaking way by using what he knows best, his own experience.
As I’ve implied above, this is an autobiographical piece, still I found it to be extremely relatable at various occasions, and maybe that’s why the following quote taken from the foreword written by James Bergman comes to mind:
“By reading someone else’s intimate personal experiences we can find ourselves relating to them in strange abstract ways that we would never have otherwise imagined.”
The writing within the piece felt fragile, as well as raw and honest. Every single essay and every single short story had a reason to be included in the piece. The structure itself added a pretty fascinating element to the piece, reminding me of the 'Coincidences' section of Story Of The Eye. Where you can see how the personal life of the author and what he’s gone through always projects into their fictional work, intended or not. I think you are always stuck inside the narrative you create for yourself, and there’s never a way out, not in life at least.
Pieces like this reinforce the idea that indeed, the world and the human race are nothing to be proud of. But at least there’s a few people out there that do know the meaning of critical thinking. Outsiders. People who are not only cursed with intelligence but sensibility as well. Being condemned to constant suffering, since they live in this kind of world. Sacrificing themselves for nothing in return, and Sexton is definitely one of them.
November 29, 2022
This book is as tiny as I imagine Satan’s nipples. Mostly autobiography, some short stories, we straightaway have a unique, thoughtful narrative: The author, perhaps because they’re a parent now, wish less expectations were placed on his. W/ a disappearing alcoholic father, there could have been less disappointments this way. Physiological studies and anecdotes are slashed throughout the vulnerable essays: How kids age quicker w/ addicted parents, scratch down their feelings to blunt them, and how each sibling can have a totally different reality. The memories can help you recall your own: mom stealing your lemonade stand cash or dad locked in their bedroom despite your sad guard at the door, the parents that should divorce but never do to everybody’s deep detriment, the psychosomatic stomach aches and school daydreaming of having a less shameful family.
The next piece is on bullying, but worse than that, the often sexual nature of it that can lead to assault. Least talked about of all is homosexual violence or predation, yes, even as adults in a professional setting. Making a pact w/ his inner child, Sexton refuses to forgive as the assailants chose this path.
His first brush with death raises original questions: How can we accept our loved ones as crossed over when we dress and pump them full in ways just a Frankenstein caricature of what they were. It’s not honorable, straddling this of in-between and treating the dead like a prop, a centerpiece in a terrible party anybody can permeate, even unwanted vagrants and enemies, part of the family that despises and plots against the other.
It is not Little League camaraderie or competition that leads Sexton out of the house when he’s older, into something more, but anger he characterized as the greatest propelling force. I can’t disagree and further along the book even find his disagreeable temperament a bit endearing. There are always existential caveats raised phrased a notch newer so as not to seem trite: anti-natalism, atheism being an extension of how you view family.
There are also cute bits I hope to pass onto my future children: making a bit of a performance while couch/reading what they brought to you, not shielding them from televised art. 75% of this book is autobiography and I’m glad it’s a hybrid because it all leads up to him being this writer so here’s proof. I just wish someone had more in-depth interviewed him to go deepen the cracks because it’s too hard to summarize yourself solo, sus out the weirdest familial parts. I want to know more about the unhinged Pentecostal vs Baptist upbringing, what the distinction really is to those specific people, more parental quotes to know if the mother was ever worse than busy-dismissive, etc.
The stories are slithering micros, as depressing as the essays, but the creatures make for something almost sexy in its sludge: cannibalistic snake-fathers, communing w/ dead lovers, ironic neurotics, suicide pacts, dementia patients who may really be conmen.
The next piece is on bullying, but worse than that, the often sexual nature of it that can lead to assault. Least talked about of all is homosexual violence or predation, yes, even as adults in a professional setting. Making a pact w/ his inner child, Sexton refuses to forgive as the assailants chose this path.
His first brush with death raises original questions: How can we accept our loved ones as crossed over when we dress and pump them full in ways just a Frankenstein caricature of what they were. It’s not honorable, straddling this of in-between and treating the dead like a prop, a centerpiece in a terrible party anybody can permeate, even unwanted vagrants and enemies, part of the family that despises and plots against the other.
It is not Little League camaraderie or competition that leads Sexton out of the house when he’s older, into something more, but anger he characterized as the greatest propelling force. I can’t disagree and further along the book even find his disagreeable temperament a bit endearing. There are always existential caveats raised phrased a notch newer so as not to seem trite: anti-natalism, atheism being an extension of how you view family.
There are also cute bits I hope to pass onto my future children: making a bit of a performance while couch/reading what they brought to you, not shielding them from televised art. 75% of this book is autobiography and I’m glad it’s a hybrid because it all leads up to him being this writer so here’s proof. I just wish someone had more in-depth interviewed him to go deepen the cracks because it’s too hard to summarize yourself solo, sus out the weirdest familial parts. I want to know more about the unhinged Pentecostal vs Baptist upbringing, what the distinction really is to those specific people, more parental quotes to know if the mother was ever worse than busy-dismissive, etc.
The stories are slithering micros, as depressing as the essays, but the creatures make for something almost sexy in its sludge: cannibalistic snake-fathers, communing w/ dead lovers, ironic neurotics, suicide pacts, dementia patients who may really be conmen.
June 8, 2022
Sexton's collection is precise and emotionally resonating with this authentic picture of the author's life through essays and short stories. Cody paints the real picture of many families through his own experiences that encompass several pressing topics: family, religion, addiction, bullying, knowledge and existence in general. The collection is without a doubt one you won't be able to put down.
January 1, 2022
Cody Sexton's newest book is a selection of darkly sobering autobiographical essays followed by various existential short stories ... and it is to me, definitively, his best book yet.
I have had the great honour of having written the foreword for this brilliant piece so I shan't give too much away apart from my promise that anyone who enjoys existentialism written in courageously pristine prose (plus a bunch of bonus short stories) such as is within this book, will absolutely love it.
I have had the great honour of having written the foreword for this brilliant piece so I shan't give too much away apart from my promise that anyone who enjoys existentialism written in courageously pristine prose (plus a bunch of bonus short stories) such as is within this book, will absolutely love it.
January 20, 2022
I can say with deep sincerity that Cody Sexton is fast becoming one of my favorite writers. Ever. That might sound slightly hyperbolic, but Sexton manages to navigate language, truth, and experience, with such a masterful ease and beauty, there is nothing not to love.
Too Many Things Came to Nothing is a memoir, written with a raw intensity that calls the reader to show up and invest in the experience. That’s what I loved most about what Sexton has created here. Reading should be an experience whereby the reader is drawn into the world, without shame or apathy. Presses like A Thin Slice of Anxiety (where Cody is the Managing Editor) or Outcast Press, for instance, refuse to sensor human experience. They hold the eye, mind, and heart to the flames of humanity’s terror, and challenge us to be shaped within such a crucible. Reading Too Many Things Came to Nothing changes you. And that is a good thing.
The book is divided into two sections, the first half a collection of personal essays, and the second consisting of seven stories.
Each essay is written with the starkness of a man who has accepted the reality by which he grew up in, and, as it turns out, how fucked up humanity truly is. As James Bergman says in the foreword, “All essays within this piece are written with refreshing sobriety and a complete rejection of false consolations to reconcile them.” Cody writes with the freedom that can only come when you refuse to surrender behind literary social conventions, or chase the mythical image of unhindered popularity and success. My god, we need more writers like this.
The stories that follow the essays are a wonderful addition, serving not only as a reminder of Cody’s gift and talent as a writer without boundaries, but also building upon and giving further meaning to the essays that precede them.
The whole book is, in many ways, an autobiographical portrait, a canvas that Cody has painted with words and blood, with searing honesty and the sweat of memory. When you stand back after reading—slick in the residue of your own memories brought out as a result of experiencing Too Many Things Came to Nothing—it is then you realise that you’ve witnessed a masterpiece.
Too Many Things Came to Nothing is a memoir, written with a raw intensity that calls the reader to show up and invest in the experience. That’s what I loved most about what Sexton has created here. Reading should be an experience whereby the reader is drawn into the world, without shame or apathy. Presses like A Thin Slice of Anxiety (where Cody is the Managing Editor) or Outcast Press, for instance, refuse to sensor human experience. They hold the eye, mind, and heart to the flames of humanity’s terror, and challenge us to be shaped within such a crucible. Reading Too Many Things Came to Nothing changes you. And that is a good thing.
The book is divided into two sections, the first half a collection of personal essays, and the second consisting of seven stories.
Each essay is written with the starkness of a man who has accepted the reality by which he grew up in, and, as it turns out, how fucked up humanity truly is. As James Bergman says in the foreword, “All essays within this piece are written with refreshing sobriety and a complete rejection of false consolations to reconcile them.” Cody writes with the freedom that can only come when you refuse to surrender behind literary social conventions, or chase the mythical image of unhindered popularity and success. My god, we need more writers like this.
The stories that follow the essays are a wonderful addition, serving not only as a reminder of Cody’s gift and talent as a writer without boundaries, but also building upon and giving further meaning to the essays that precede them.
The whole book is, in many ways, an autobiographical portrait, a canvas that Cody has painted with words and blood, with searing honesty and the sweat of memory. When you stand back after reading—slick in the residue of your own memories brought out as a result of experiencing Too Many Things Came to Nothing—it is then you realise that you’ve witnessed a masterpiece.
April 23, 2023
Started and finished on Sunday April 16th
A compilation of essays and short stories from Cody Sexton. He unearths deep rooted trauma to give us all much needed vicarious therapy.
His essays are confessional and intimate.
He takes us through the death of his aunt and how this had a permanent impact on him; making him come to his nihilistic worldview and a keen awareness of how the embalming process as a social ritual crafts a haunting inability to accept death.
Through the complicated indoctrinating like feelings of being a kid involuntarily forced to go to church and how moments like this have a big impact on your life; leaving you with experiences that are hard to deconstruct and rationalize
The all consuming suffocation of familial neglect and the legacies of trauma this brings
The tragedy of yearning for connection in a world of social rejection
Conquering fear and respect through learning
The liberation of trauma through reading and speaking out through writing
Sexual workplace abuse at the hands of a superior
Alcoholism
Bullying
The courage to come forward and express yourself to this capacity is blinding
It’s just overwhelming
Bergman nails in the introduction the feeling you get like you know Cody through the writing as if you’re old friends even though you’ve never met
If I’m not outright crying I’m right on the verge of it
Some of these pieces reduced me to tears just at the turn of a single line. I don’t know what that says about me but I give the credit to Cody’s writing because my capacity to withstand bullshit writing is very minimal
Cody’s ability to achieve so much nuanced emotional depth in the most economic of sentences is astounding.
The essays were super consumable and engaging; just as refreshing as the fiction
To single out any one would be difficult because they all have ways of kicking your ass
If you read it in one sitting then you really feel the singular resonance of the essays informing the entirety of the experience.
The stories are direct parallels thematically to the views expressed in the essays.
The stories that got to me the most were Just a Little While Longer and The Monster on Walnut Street.
In one we are dealt the irreparable pain of allowing time to heal our wounds but erode everything to a fine memory that will be swept away like everything else.
In the other Cody shows us how we can destroy other people as well as ourselves in acts of self preservation. He is the guy burning down the house and the guy inside it screaming. And I think that’s probably all of us.
A compilation of essays and short stories from Cody Sexton. He unearths deep rooted trauma to give us all much needed vicarious therapy.
His essays are confessional and intimate.
He takes us through the death of his aunt and how this had a permanent impact on him; making him come to his nihilistic worldview and a keen awareness of how the embalming process as a social ritual crafts a haunting inability to accept death.
Through the complicated indoctrinating like feelings of being a kid involuntarily forced to go to church and how moments like this have a big impact on your life; leaving you with experiences that are hard to deconstruct and rationalize
The all consuming suffocation of familial neglect and the legacies of trauma this brings
The tragedy of yearning for connection in a world of social rejection
Conquering fear and respect through learning
The liberation of trauma through reading and speaking out through writing
Sexual workplace abuse at the hands of a superior
Alcoholism
Bullying
The courage to come forward and express yourself to this capacity is blinding
It’s just overwhelming
Bergman nails in the introduction the feeling you get like you know Cody through the writing as if you’re old friends even though you’ve never met
If I’m not outright crying I’m right on the verge of it
Some of these pieces reduced me to tears just at the turn of a single line. I don’t know what that says about me but I give the credit to Cody’s writing because my capacity to withstand bullshit writing is very minimal
Cody’s ability to achieve so much nuanced emotional depth in the most economic of sentences is astounding.
The essays were super consumable and engaging; just as refreshing as the fiction
To single out any one would be difficult because they all have ways of kicking your ass
If you read it in one sitting then you really feel the singular resonance of the essays informing the entirety of the experience.
The stories are direct parallels thematically to the views expressed in the essays.
The stories that got to me the most were Just a Little While Longer and The Monster on Walnut Street.
In one we are dealt the irreparable pain of allowing time to heal our wounds but erode everything to a fine memory that will be swept away like everything else.
In the other Cody shows us how we can destroy other people as well as ourselves in acts of self preservation. He is the guy burning down the house and the guy inside it screaming. And I think that’s probably all of us.
April 26, 2022
This one was brave on Sexton's part, as he revealed far more here than many ever would to people they don't know. It's not an easy thing revealing your insecurities, vulnerabilities, and inner workings of your mind, especially when you harbor a nihilistic view of life and the world, but a time comes when you simply can't hide who you are any longer, and its clear Cody has reached this stage. It seems he held back nothing when talking about his childhood, family, abysmal workplace experiences in adulthood, and overall traumatic situations he's been in. When learning about the things he's been through the reader gets to learn his personal reasons for his hatred of the capitalistic hellscape we live in as well as his anti-natalist views. Perhaps I'm biased because I personally tend to agree with what he has to say, but I thought everything about this work was great. Sexton is willing to go to some dark places that even other transgressive authors who write fucked up shit won't, perhaps even more raw than Bukowski. One take away I want to mention from my own experience reading this (and reading this one is definitely an experience), is the importance of consideration for others and not being a selfish narcissist. As dark as Sexton's work is, reading it has instilled within me a desire/drive to become a better person and put in the effort to make that happen. As "dark" as his worldview may be, (and how could it not be living in a dystopia), its clear that he is one who cares a great deal for his fellow human. I've now had the pleasure of reading Too Many Things Came To Nothing, American Bullshit, and All The Sweet Prettiness Of Life... all of which I would highly recommend and I'm intrigued as to what Cody Sexton will do next.
February 21, 2022
Every time we look into our past, we learn something new. In his essays and short stories, Cody Sexton urges us to revisit those dark places. It's where our inner child continues to extract bullets that no one else cared to remove.
"Too many things add up to nothing" shares a child's unusual defense mechanisms and creative set of tools that will change our perspectives forever. What can possibly go wrong if we turn to anger for motivation or find comfort in sin?
It further explores how moving on is overrated, debunking the notion that fitting in will win you status in society. And suddenly, atheism means the rejection of family itself because emotional neglect and parental addiction shaped us.
How would disaffected individuals cope with repressive institutions and authorities if there were no philosophy and literature?
Here's how Sexton has found solace and a like-minded companion in books and stories that stretch into bittersweet themes of guilt, suicide, antinatalism, and passing love.
"Too many things add up to nothing" shares a child's unusual defense mechanisms and creative set of tools that will change our perspectives forever. What can possibly go wrong if we turn to anger for motivation or find comfort in sin?
It further explores how moving on is overrated, debunking the notion that fitting in will win you status in society. And suddenly, atheism means the rejection of family itself because emotional neglect and parental addiction shaped us.
How would disaffected individuals cope with repressive institutions and authorities if there were no philosophy and literature?
Here's how Sexton has found solace and a like-minded companion in books and stories that stretch into bittersweet themes of guilt, suicide, antinatalism, and passing love.
May 2, 2022
Brutally honest, difficult, depressing, and vulnerable. The passages in this book are the conversations about reality you wish to avoid but have to face one day. Topics here range from death, sexual abuse, addiction, bullying , and what it takes to be a writer (aka being vulnerable). Truth be told there were times when I had to stop and put the book down because the words were dark reminders of things I preferred not to think about. That is precisely what makes the book a powerful read. Despite some heavy themes the book is an easy read due to Sexton's way with words.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews