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highly recommended |
Critical Analysis of "The Church of 80% Sincerity" from a Disability Studies lens 
Jeff Roche
Communication Arts 610
March 6, 2008
Critical Analysis of The Church of 80% Sincerity
In reading David Roche's The Church of 80% Sincerity, I thought that I would be able to "kill two birds with one stone," simultaneously satisfying my curiosity/interest and sense of obligation as the author's nephew, as well finding an autobiographical text that I could examine with a critical lens. However, while I satisfied one part of the equation, I complicated the other; it's not easy to be critical of family.
But I digress. Roche's book is not truly an autobiography. This work is a testimonio, as it "represents an affirmation of the individual subject, even of individual growth and transformation, but in connection with a group or class situation marked by marginalization," (Couser 88). Still, this description is not entirely accurate, as Roche hardly mentions his connection to and development with a community of performers with disabilities (Roche 6). Yet, to quote Steven Winn off of davidroche.com, "what's most striking, and finally moving, is the way he both draws attention to his disfigurement and makes the audience see beyond it as well," fitting nicely with the first part of the testimonio definition. Thus, The Church of 80% Sincerity is more of a semi-autobiographical, non-linear novel that draws attention to Roche's poignant life stories/events that fit into his overall themes.
One might then ask, what are these overall themes? "It is the story of accepting yourself, despite all of your flaws," (Roche 5). By recounting various life experiences, Roche tells his tale of finding self-identity as a person with a congenital facial disfigurement and the setbacks that occurred at various stages. However, for Roche, humor is a key element in the telling of his story. According to Krefting, the use of humor affords her "the catharsis of laughing at myself and my insecurities, as well as allowing me a modality to criticize/satirize," (Krefting 110). I feel the same can be said of Roche. Humor is one part of Roche's identity, but his is an expansive identity that is inherently tied to his ability to "find my voice...I continue to find it onstage, in the pages of this book," (Roche, 56). In many ways, Roche's path of self-discovery aligns itself perfectly with Gill's description of the four types of integration.
The first type involves one's "assertion of a right to inclusion in society," (Gill 42). Roche has several examples related to such assertions. Whether it was his right to be politically active by voicing his concerns on city buses (Roche 64), or preferences for what he wants in a companion (Roche 101), Roche asserts his right to not be excluded on account of his disability.
The second type of integration relates to "finding a place" within the disability community (Gill 42). Roche's initial avoidance of disability culture can be explained by the factors that made him shameful of his own disability, desiring to be "normal". At home, the issue was not discussed; thus, Roche "never learned to explain myself. Instead I learned the safety of standing to the side," (Roche 34). This, combined with feeling rejected by the god that he was raised to love, led to Roche's (unsuccessful) attempts at passing, avoidance, and later substance abuse (Roche 38). Eventually, by finding "community, the feeling of mutual support and being in it together," (Roche 69), Roche felt empowered to challenge his shame and the oppression of others and stop "pretending to be normal and began to accept myself the way I was," (Roche 6).
Now, in a way this seems good because Roche finds strength in a supportive community. What is disconcerting is the lack of a challenge towards the concept of "normal." According to Lennard Davis, the "the idea of a norm is less a condition of human nature than it is a feature of a certain kind of society," (Davis, 24). Roche never directly questions the very notion of "normal," but rather, he continues to make several "normative" remarks throughout the book, leaving the societal construction of the norm untouched. The closest attempts came by asserting how everyone is unique and that Roche's experiences are "wholly human," (Roche 11). By using the word "normal" in this context, it implies that there is a poorly connoted "other," and there is something fundamentally wrong with a society that requires one to assert their humanity because they are viewed as "other."
"Coming together" is the third type of integration, where one recognizes their sameness and differences (Gill 43). The Church of 80% Sincerity does an excellent job of portraying this stage's classical struggle of self-acceptance. There is no need to repeat the why of the matter, for the same mental/physical barriers that prevented Roche from finding a place within the disability community, also prevented him from accepting himself. Though I criticized this quote in relation to the concept of "normal," it accurately shows the integration of sameness and differences: "My face is unique but my experiences are wholly human," (Roche 11).
"I thought...that my face was an impediment...Amazingly, that fear turned out not only to be unfounded, but also to be the opposite of the truth," (Roche 69). A statement such as this demonstrates that Roche was able to reach the fourth type of integration, "coming out," (Gill 45). Not only does Roche see and accept himself as whole, he takes pride in his appearance while using it for his advantage (performances, keynote speeches, charming himself).
The Church of 80% Sincerity extensively covers Roche's personal development in relation to disability, but he downplays any notion of "overcoming". Rather than stating that he overcame ill-formed patterns of thinking about himself and the world around, Roche discusses several self-transforming "moments of grace." While the lessons to be learned from these moments of grace are well-intended and not overlooked, one cannot help but to be distracted by the fact that self-transformations are "a matter of individual will and determination rather than of social and cultural accommodation," (Couser 80). The fact that Roche discusses matters with more of an introspective focus may cause one to overlook the larger sociocultural factors that helped create the ill-formed patterns of thinking in the first place. For example, a sociocultural model of disability might examine societal conceptions of beauty and the assumptions that are tied to it. However, by examining the "random acts of cruelty" that Roche encounters, such as the man who spit in his face, The Church of 80% Sincerity points out the inherent flaws in all of us (Roche 40). Although this does not directly challenge sociocultural factors, it is a step beyond the phenomenological level.
And yet it is difficult to be overly critical of these "moments of grace," because all of these individual, phenomenological experiences have led Roche to form the backbone of his "Church of 80% Sincerity." Although no physical church actually exists, the "Church of 80% Sincerity" can effectively be classified as a lifestyle choice/ way of thinking about the world. The Church is an abstraction "for recovering perfectionists, You can be 80% sincere 100% of the time, or you can be 100% sincere 80% of the time," (Roche 7). Many tenets of the Church are mentioned throughout the book, but the primary tenet would have to be one that calls for self-acceptance, despite one's flaws. One could argue that "The Church of 80% Sincerity" is a sub-set of disability culture, one could even go so far as to say the Church is disability culture. If one takes a look at Gill's work on the eight core values of disability culture (Gill 2-3), one would quickly see that the Church embraces the majority of these core values throughout the book, with a few additions of its own.
On a final note, Roche is very modest about being seen as an inspiration by others. Yet, it is in this modesty that Roche fails to acknowledge the fact that his high level of intelligence and incredible sense of humor assisted him in his identity development and ability to work though challenges; perhaps Roche is modest because of the fact that he was not always looked at as an inspiration, either by himself or others. Roche's work does a good job of challenging the notions of the theoretical gaze and stare, as well as the diagnostic gaze (Millet 26) by reiterating his own experiences with the Western model of medicine. Roche relates his early medical encounters, "One by one they came forward to examine me...If our eyes ever met, it was only a nanosecond before theirs turned away with easy, practiced avoidance," (Roche 53), "You never talk about feelings...or anything!" (Roche 54). This breakdown of the medical experience into feeling like a subject to be examined and gazed upon was a powerful one; stirring up emotions in the reader, as well as inciting Roche to action, as he later became an expert on the physician-patient relationship.
Ultimately, Roche and the "Church of 80% Sincerity" seem to align themselves with many of the core values of Disability Culture. Although one might choose to criticize Roche for his lack of social resolution, political agenda, or inherent call for change, one must realize that that is not what The Church of 80% Sincerity set out to do. This was a story of "courage, faith, inspiration, and laughter...to understand that you and I are very much alike, with our gifts and our flaws woven together," (Roche 11). The majority of the criticisms presented here were merely a means of expanding upon Roche's already solid foundation of self-love, tolerance, and an appreciation for the uniqueness of the human spirit.
Works Cited
Couser, Thomas G. "Conflicting Paradigms: The Rhetorics of Disability Memoir." Embodied Rhetorics Disability in Language and Culture. Ed. James C. Wilson and Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson. Southern Illinois University Press, 2001. 78-91.
Davis, Lennard. Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body. London: Verso, 1995. 1-49
Gill, Carol J. "A Psychological View of Disability Culture." First published in Disability Studies Quarterly, Fall 1995. www.independentliving.org/docs3/gill1995
Gill, Carol J. "Four Types of Integration in Disability Identity Development." Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation 9 (1997): 39-46.
Krefting, Rebecca. "'The Taming of the Sun': Finding the Joke in the Cancer Narrative of a Pedagogue." Disability and the Teaching of Writing A Critical Sourcebook. Ed. Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson and Brenda Jo Brueggemann. Bedford/ St. Martin's: Boston, 2008. 109-116.
Millet, Ann. "Disarming Venus: Disability and the Re-Vision of Art History." FemTAP (Summer 2006): 21-39.
Roche, David. The Church of 80% Sincerity. New York: Perigee, 2008.
Amen to Reverend Dave!
If David Roche did not exist we would have to invent him. He is one of those people (and I'm beginning to think there may be more of them around than we imagine) who make this tired planet a better place to incarnate. David is a truth teller, hope giver, path finder, holy clown and, as we now discover, a hell of a good writer. I read the book in one sitting weeks ago and have been letting its stories and images percolate in my mind, heart and soul ever since. David is not a new-age pollyanna. He reminds me of Barack Obama -- whose memior I"m now reading -- in the way he has earned the authority of the one who has gone through the dark night of the soul and has come back to tell the tale. His compassion, optimism and salvific humor come from his willingness to work with his wounded parts. He takes the alchemical path, transforming the "base material" his life has given him into spiritual gold. In modeling, especially as a man in this society, this willingness to look unflinchingly into his own soul he performs an act of service. And love.
An Easy Read, With Laughter, Pathos and Peace
This is an honest account of a facially disfigured man who has done lots more with his life than most "normal" men. Anyone who has ever been self-conscious about freckles, a big nose, extra weight or any "perceived" deformity, will feel a kinship with his self consciousness. I certainly did, yet I also felt gratitude that I did not have to go through what he went through. I laughed hard, I cried a few times and I came to some peace with myself after reading this personal little gem of a book, written by a gem of a man.
A memoir with pointers for all
What a wonderful book this is, though I look at it more as a funny and poignant memoir of someone who has seemingly overcome tremendous obstacles to create a wholesome and very meaningful and happy life for himself. Through significant events in his past, David relates, with great humor, how he was able to overcome the society's burden of judging people by how they look and lead a very fulfilling life. There are some aspects of a "self-help" book about the text, but mostly it is the story of David. At the same time, I found myself looking inward quite a bit and reviewing my own choices in life. David does touch on some aspects of faith, especially in his Catholic upbringing, but the book is mostly about finding the true self within and creating strength and thriving. A warm, funny, touching and thoroughly enjoyable read. I recommend it for all.
Not just for Sunday!
My wife, Wilene, and I saw David Roche perform THE CHURCH OF 80% SINCERITY on stage in 1996. It had rocked us with laughter and moved us to silence. When we finally spoke, I said to her, "He should write a book!" Now that didn't qualify me to be a prophet in his church, but it did make me a proud parishioner, because now that his message is out in print, everyone has access to Reverend Dave's gospel. And, that is a blessing!
David was born facially disfigured and I will say no more about that, because whatever I could possibly write, it would pale before David's words as he chronicles his life in this magnificent little book. I have known David for about fifteen years and what I love about the CHURCH OF 80% SINCERITY is the very thing that I love about him. It is about the place where he lives, the intersection of pathos wisdom and humor. When reading it, one is never a sentence or two away from the integration of these three forces.
Another potent and enchanting aspect of his writing lies in his ability to pilot the reader down the same road he is travelling. As David allows us to examine the grief,anger,love,and joy of his life, we are simultaneously compelled to examine and reexperience our own. Ultimately, what the book reveals is that David's journey has been been an alchemical one. We become very clear that he turns lead into gold, and there in lies the gospel; the good news that we can do the same. -- at least eighty percent of the time! -- I can't recommend it enough!
reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
"The Church of 80% Sincerity shares the inspiring, poignant, wickedly funny, and sometimes heartbreaking story of motivational speaker David Roche's journey from shame to self-acceptance. Born with a severe facial deformity, David's life has been anything but easy. Still, over time, he's learned to accept his gifts as well as his flaws, and to see that, sometimes, they are one and the same. In this compelling book, he shares his hard-earned lessons, providing an irresistible and unforgettable glimpse of his (and everyone's) inner beauty and offering profound encouragement in dealing with whatever life brings."
church of 80, church, sincerity
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