Television writer/producer Gary Janetti grew up in a time of the golden age of nighttime soaps, little parental supervision, Bennigan’s, and gay teenagers being in the closet. And in his new collection of essays, Do You Mind If I Cancel?, he revisits many of those iconic moments from his past and shares all this thoughts and feelings with us now.

Being a horrible server at ‘80s clutter-as-decor restaurant Bennigans? Done. Trying to get on the set of One Life to Live? He did that. Faking sick to stay home from school? Biking around Europe for several weeks in charge of random teenagers? Working as a bellhop in Ian Schrager’s (former Studio 54 owner) new venture the Paramount Hotel? Spending the summer in England learning acting at Oxford? Janetti has done it all, and he tells about it all with all the good humor and pathos of a smart gay man looking back over his adolescence.

I jumped at the chance to read these essays when I heard the magic word “funny.” I will read anything someone says is funny. And while there are definitely moments of humor, these essays play more on irony, sarcasm, plaintiveness, and piquancy. There is sadness under the humor, loneliness under the eye rolling. But there is also a lot of solid entertainment in these essays, and there is much warmth and self-realization as Janetti looks back and offers himself the acceptance he didn’t feel when he was younger.

Is this a book I recommend across the board? Not really. But if you grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, you’ll find pieces of yourself in some of these essays. If you were a gay man at the gym in the ‘90s, you’ll see yourself here. If you wanted to be an actor or a writer, if you found yourself captivated by television when you were growing up, if you want to remember your own self-image issues, your immature mistakes, your undying love for Patti LuPone, then Do You Mind If I Cancel? is calling your name.

Galleys for Do You Mind If I Cancel? were provided by Flatiron Books through Edelweiss, with many thanks.