My Roomie and Me

A Dark Comedy About Domestic Abuse in a Colombian American Family

De: Donny O'Malley, Danny Diaz Maher

Narrado por: Danny Diaz Maher

While she laid on what she thought was her deathbed, my hilarious, Colombian-American Grandma finally shared the tragedy of her life. I learned that her dad abandoned her at birth, her mom sold her to be an indentured servant at 8 years old, her sisters outcasted her, and much to my surprise, I learned that my Grandpa beat the sh$t out of her, cheated on her, and verbally abused her for their entire marriage.

I could understand her dad leaving- her mom was a c--t, I could understand her mom selling her to be a servant- young Grandma’s work ethic was worth top dollar on the child labor market, but hearing about Grandpa's abuse lit a fire within me that I hadn’t felt since facing off against the Taliban. That night in the hospital, I decided to move in with them to teach Grandpa a long-awaited lesson in respect.

This is the story of protecting Grandma from my 88 year old, proud, Colombian Grandpa, who I grew up loving. If that's not weird enough, I was 30, a Captain in the Marine Corps recently home from Afghanistan (with a few screws loose) and I was living in their sunroom in a senior citizen community in San Diego. Grandma and I had a blast together, and Grandpa got what was coming to him.

©2024 O'Malley Entertainment, LLC (P)2024 O'Malley Entertainment, LLC

He never disappoints and always delivers binge-worthy content. Finished it in one sitting. 5/5

I accidentally stumbled upon his first book, Embarrassing Confessions of a Marine Lieutenant, way back in 2016. The Amazon description instantly piqued my interest and had me at “WARNING…highly offensive” but I had no idea who this guy was or what to expect but really didn’t expect much. To my surprise, I devoured it, cover to cover (figuratively - it was on kindle) in one sitting. From the moment I finished that book I have anxiously awaited his next publication. Damn near 10 years later, here it is, FINALLY. While a total deviation from his combat veteran content, he stays true to the same uncensored storytelling and dark humor, candor, and sincerity we know and love him for. He tackles a very tough topic (DV) while he recounts his time living with his precious grandmother. What we get are intimate stories about her life and their time together as “roommates” that are equal parts hilarious, endearing, gut wrenching, and heartbreaking. As someone who comes from a long line of DV survivors and then recently becoming one myself, there were lots of laughter through tears as I read this… and then the ending was icing on the cake. Tears streamed down my face as he spoke about DV to the audience in general and then addressed any current victims and encouraged and implored them to seek help and then outlined what and how to do so.

5/5