Keanu Reeves Pokes Fun at Sorrow and Self-Pity
Every now and again, pictures surface in the media of Keanu Reeves appearing lonely and sad.
The Hollywood star has made no secret of the pain he felt when his daughter was stillborn and his long-term girlfriend died in a car crash.
Now it seems the 46-year-old is happy to perpetuate that gloomy media image with his first book titled, Ode to Happiness.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
There are only 4,000 copies of the book, which is actually a poem that reads more like a lamentation.
“I draw a hot sorrow bath/in my despair room,” gives an idea of the tone.
Reeves then goes on to list some interesting cosmetics like “regret shampoo,” “pain soap,” and “I hate myself face cream,” items that can be applied before slipping into some “alone again silk pyjamas.”
But the self-penned poem’s not as serious and self-pitying as it first appears. To Reeves, it’s more of a joke than a serious wallow.
“It’s only personal in the sense of looking out and regarding my sense of humor,” he said.
“I don’t usually take baths in my despair room with a misery candle burning.”
Despite the doom and gloom of the text, Reeves is hoping the book will help anyone who is feeling up against the wall.
“There is a kind of life experience in it. I was hoping people would find it relatable and hopefully transformative in a sense.
“It does start off being a true moment – that time when you’re melancholic or sad, that kind of very insular moment.
“Hopefully looking at this you can come out of it and become objective about what circumstances you’re going through and maybe have a smile about it.”
The poem is accompanied by ink drawings by Los Angeles artist Alexandra Grant, who appreciates the funny side.
“Our friend [Janey Bergman, editor of the book] sat at Keanu’s house one night listening to wonderfully sad self-pitying songs and Keanu, in the spirit of poking fun at them, began to write a poem.”
She added: “[The poem] needed images to match the power of the humor of each line, but also the sadness.”
