In this pocket-sized essay, Michael Keen bares his karaoke-loving soul as he delves into cocaine addiction, Britney Spears song selection, and what drives a person, newly sober, to take the karaoke stage night after night. This personal essay is not for the faint of heart. Keen suffers a probable-heart attack in Seattle, watches his engagement crumble in one coke-fueled evening, and exposes his ongoing existential crisis. After reading this essay, you may want to sing karaoke, but you will NOT want to do cocaine.

MICHAEL KEEN is from Puyallup, Washington, and has an MFA from Syracuse University. He is the author of Notes from the Trauma Party (Tailwinds Press, 2023), and the seminal video blog series, My Cheese Series. You can find him on Instagram under the username @myusernameismycheeseseries. He currently works as a hospice social worker in Portland.