What Ever Happened to What I Wrote

What Ever Happened to What I Wrote is a second memoir from writer and diarist Paul K. Lyons. In his first memoir, he reflected on a repressed childhood, as well his young adult years of travelling, and searching for meaning as well as excitement in the arts and love affairs. By his mid-30s, Lyons has become a father (to Adam), a role he relishes but one which brings challenges, practical, emotional and social. And, like all else in his life, he tends to meet these challenges and compromises in unconventional ways.

As with the first memoir, this is a patchwork of themed chapters, each one focused on a different aspect of Lyons's life. Two chapters examine his role as a parent within, what he calls, the Adam Co-op. In both he brings a self-critical, near forensic, analysis to the ups and downs, joys and fears, responsibilities and privileges of fatherhood.

Two further chapters follow Lyons's journalistic writing career, first as an editor in the Financial Times Group and then launching and running his own business - producing newsletters and books on European Community policies in energy and transport.

More off-beat perhaps (in memoir terms), Lyons presents chapters on health and well-being issues, on the ways that music has enriched his life, on science and his MSc thesis (parental care in primates!), and on the dynamic world of his diaries.