All of the Intelligent Phrases on Pages: A Portrait of My Friendship with Aaron Weiss of mewithoutYou

There and Back Again, a Reader’s Tale


This is my second read through of All the Clever Words on Pages, my first reading of the revised and updated edition. I had a copy of the “train wreck” with a photo of Aaron on the cover, hollering into a flower-laden microphone. It was a good read then. I ended up giving the copy to a girl I was infatuated with, who also loved mewithoutYou as much as I did, but who I never pursued due to having dated a good friend of hers and wanting to spare her the drama of it all.

The first thing I want to share with other readers and the author (who I know reviews the reviews and oftentimes responds [I debated giving a 1 star thinking it might garner his attention, but truly, he deserves the rating]) is my gratitude. 

Paul bares everything in his writings – his heart, his struggles, his strengths, his loves, his fears, the heroes in his life as well as the monsters. His writing is brilliant. Aaron Weiss is known for his mastery of wordplay (he may disagree as he often plagiarizes, but as Tarantino said, “Great artists steal; they don’t do homages.” Paul Matthew Harrison should be known for this as well. In the same way that Aaron pulls from poets, philosophers, and theologians and quilts together a poem, Paul quilts together emails, blogs, and books and presents a work telling the story of two friends who keep each other going.

The second thing I wish to share is that, rather surreally, I found myself there with them. Not only in that I have experienced similar scenes, but I was there at Cornerstone in 2005. I was in the crowd shouting along with Aaron and ruining the video. I was sitting in that little group in a tent by the Jesus People prayer tent where Aaron spoke on whatever came into his mind and was reprimanded by a well-meaning, closed-minded fundamentalist scared of questions. I think I even recall someone, maybe Paul, standing by a pole and training his video camera lens on Aaron on the stage (I could be wrong…). And I, too, received encouragement from Aaron after telling him of my anxiety and depression and how his music helped me. He gave me a hug and invited me to meet up and speak with him later. I didn’t see him again, but based on my re-read, it seems that Paul met up with Aaron and now I know the rest of the story.

The second edition is very well done. I also just received my copy of (Pt. 2) and look forward to reading it as well.

Thank you, Paul. I hope you are still doing well.

A very honest and existential glimpse into the friendship of Paul Harrison and Aaron Weiss
I was interested in this book because I knew it was (at least vaguely) about the “Christian hardcore” scene, and that, combined with my fascination with mewithoutYou/Aaron Weiss, was more than enough to convince me to take the $20 plunge and get it. I came across it wanting something like the book “Backstage: How I Almost Got Rich Playing Drums in a Christian Hardcore Band,” which I loved. But, as other reviews have already stated, this book represents much more than that.While most people who might buy are probably doing it because of their interest in Aaron Weiss himself, the book, as evidenced by its subtitle, is actually more about Paul Harrison, a born again Christian, turned atheist, turned whatever with fibromyalgia. Like Mr Weiss, believe it or not, Paul is a very unsure of/down on himself and lovesick kind of guy, who constantly wants answers he can’t find. As such, this book focuses on his varying degrees of happiness/unhappiness, sureness/unsureness, and love or lack thereof, and how these things are affected by his friendship with Aaron. Sound melodramatic? It very much is, but that’s the kind of guy Paul is, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Plus, I personally find it hard not to get emotionally involved in the roller coaster of a life detailed in these pages, since it gets pretty nuts.What really makes the book, though, is Aaron Weiss’ involvement in Paul’s life. Everything about who Aaron is, compared to Paul, is almost polar opposite. That is until their friendship grows over time. Their similarities come to a head more and more over the course of the book, and it’s made very apparent that they are very important to each other’s well-being and growth as people. So, if you find yourself not being interested in Paul himself, only wanting the juiciest insight into Aaron’s life, maybe consider how Paul is almost a reflection of Aaron. Paul’s musings and almost “emo” problems throughout the book are all almost exactly what Aaron experiences at some point, as well.The issues that Paul and Aaron face throughout the book, coupled with their friendship and heavy topics of conversation represent perfectly what this book is: A practical diary about the existential and personal doubts we all face over the course of our lives. Paul’s ever-changing stances on religion, romance, and what to do with his life are relatable to anyone even remotely unsure of themselves, and that relatability really makes this book an interesting read. Paul is often times irritating and overemotional, but I cared about how he dealt with and overcame his issues all-throughout his story.While All the Clever Words is definitely a revealing and personal look into the life and personality of Aaron Weiss, it’s much more so a story about what it’s like to doubt yourself and everything around you, while still coming out of it okay because of love and friendship. As lame an assessment as that might seem, it’s exactly what this book is, and if it sounds even remotely interesting, I highly recommend going ahead with a purchase. I stuck with the thing for all 500+ pages and that has to count for something.

Great book for mewithoutYou fans and anyone in general.
Paul is able to provide a nice mix of mewithoutYou history, his friendship with Aaron Weiss, and his struggles. He writes very in depth and in a way that you feel you really know him.

Great so far
Very detailed, introspective, spiritual self examination and investigation into the author’s and Aaron’s selves and purposes.