It's an interesting idea and an interesting story, but I'm frustrated by what the personal narrative approach does to it. And I'm frustrated that the author did

It's an interesting idea and an interesting story, but I'm frustrated by what the personal narrative approach does to it. And I'm frustrated that the author didn't take a class or otherwise push Blanton on some deeper questions than "did I do good?" The standard social norm is "people think some amount, and say less than that". What's being changed is "say less", but an audience that doesn't know that might expect "think more". The comment to the nanny isn't just weird because it's inappropriate, it's unnerving because it raises the question of "if he's willing to say that, what must he be thinking?" So the consequences seem very different between people who are prepped to expect radical honesty, and people who don't. The second group has far more reason to be disturbed than thin-skinned-ness - they think they're talking to someone who's operating way outside normal limits. I'd like to hear Blanton's take on that, though it might well be "screw em". And, of course, I sort of get the sense that the author was an asshole about the whole thing. Radical honesty is radical, but honesty when things inconvenience you is just "being a jerk". And we get... honesty about sexual urges, honesty about wanting to flake on stories and events, honesty about anger at an editor. There's very little that's confessional here, and quite a lot that's demanding.