Schadenfreude

Admit it. Everyone derives a bit of satisfaction from the misfortunes of the rich and famous. I'd like to say I'm bigger than that, but sadly I'm no different. In my case, it's the story of Kaavya Viswanathan, the disgraced 19-year-old Harvard student who admitted to plagarizing passages of her book "How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life." Or now it should be titled "How Overachieving Teenager Got into Harvard, Landed a six-figure Book Deal, and Got Herself Subsequently Ostracized from the Literary Community." Initially her book publisher stood by her story of the deed being "unconscious and unintentional." Now things are looking a bit dim for Ms. Viswanathan. Today, Little, Brown announced they were pulling her books from all carriers. Needless to say, her second of her 2-book deal is now in jeopardy and DreamWorks has ixnayed its optioning of the film rights.

My fascination deviates between pleasure in her pain and sincere pity. After all, she is surrounded by pressure on all sides -- her parents, school, and the media goldfish bowl. It's uncertain whether she'll return to Harvard. She has undoubtedly pushed herself hard for her achievements. But for whose ambitions? It was her parents who hired a $30,000 coach to strategize Ivy League admission. The same coach who referred Viswanathan to her book agent.

Maybe I'm a bit pissy because on my family's annual income, which was little more than the cost of Ms Viswanathan's "consultant", I didn't get a fancy coach or expensive college prep education. (Bring out the violins...) I'm a product of California public schools for better or worse. My parents scrimped and saved so that I wouldn't be saddled with student loans after graduating from the University of California, freeing me up to take the first minimum-wage, entry-level publishing job I could find. Maybe I'm pissy because my last submission to "Jane" magazine was rejected. (They did send a nice letter though.)

Don't get me wrong. Life is good. My path of medical writing has been lucrative and afforded me a comfortable standard of living. I'm no longer in debt. We eat out regularly. Of course, I give into flights of fancy about landing that book deal that will take me out of the rat race, and give me my first house.

But right now I'm going to bed.