5.0 (1 rating)
Irresistible Calling
"Sean Mitchell was teaching English at a private school in Ohio when the New Journalism piqued his interest and lured him toward a profession that was much harder to crack than he imagined. After an editor in Washington, D.C. finally gave him a chance, he found a calling that would require and reveal multiple skills: editing an "underground" newspaper in his hometown of Dallas, writing magazine length stories about long distance truckers and Z.Z. Top, serving as the Dallas Times Herald's first rock critic and then its theatre critic, winning national recognition for his reviews. Moving to Los Angeles to cover Hollywood for the strangely singular and doomed Herald Examiner and then the Los Angeles Times, he profiled stars like Clint Eastwood, Ann-Margret and his irascible former St. Mark's School of Texas soccer teammate Tommy Lee Jones. While examining the nation's preoccupation with celebrity, he wonderd if journalists like him were part of the problem or part of the solution? Such introspection fills this memoir of a young journalist, the only child of two creative but very different parents. It harks back to scenes of Dallas in the 1950s and '60s, framing a boy's discovery of sports, girls, hootenannies, F. Scott Fitzgerald and himself. He saw the counterculture and Vietnam War overtake the traditions of the Ivy League, experienced the excitement of a big city newsroom, spent a life-changing summer at an institute for young critics at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and got close enough to Hollywood to blink"-- Provided by publisher.
Pages: 302
ISBN: 9780875659312
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5.0
1 rating
Karen B.
Feb 25, 2026
Irresistible Calling
~Sean Mitchell
I am out of my comfort zone here, truth be told. Anyone who has seen my reviews knows, I am a fiction girlie, never reviewing a memoir before. But, I am always one up for a challenge AND an intriguing book. So, bear with me because this review can't follow my normal format and I may look a little like a fish out of water!
Irresistible Calling is a deep dive memoir of Sean Mitchell – chronicling his life and extensive career from childhood in PA to Hollywood lights in CA. It feels less like a regaling of one man's life and accomplishments, and more like a vibrant cover story from the front page of American History. Sean wasn't born a Texan, but he got here as fast as he could, might have temporarily left to find his way in the world, but has since made it his home.
Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Mitchell's parents moved him to Texas in the mid-1950’s when their hometown's steel industry took a downturn. Well educated, we are invited in to share in his academic career, family – including the heartbreaking loss of his parents, friendships (Tommy Lee Jones being one of note), and how he stumbled from a career path he chose to the career path that chose him.
Mitchell fills this memoir with more than just words to describe memories. He embraces readers with heartfelt emotions and vulnerabilities throughout his life and career. From English teacher to veteran journalist, his bylines have graced publications such as the underground papers in Dallas all the way to D.C. and the Los Angeles Times. But what truly sets this memoir apart is Mitchell's dual lens focus: not only does he include personal aspects, he includes impactful views from history with first-hand accounts.
Irresistible Calling isn't just Mitchell's story. It's a time capsule of America's restless soul from the mid-1950’s through, well, stories he still occasionally drops on his blog to this day. At its heart, it's a story of callings - familial, artistic, and professional - that pull us toward horizons we can barely discern, often at the cost of the lives we leave behind.
I enjoyed my journey alongside Mitchell, experiencing life via his typewriter. While I say again, memoirs are not on the top of my list when it comes to books, but I am thrilled that I took the opportunity to read Irresistible Calling. I recommend this to any fan of memoirs, or just those interested in historical events from a different point of view.
I would like to thank Sean Mitchell and Lone Star Literary Life for the opportunity to read Irresistible Calling. As always, all opinions and reviews are of my own volition. I have not been promised any compensation, current or future, by the author or publisher for a fair and honest review.
~Sean Mitchell
I am out of my comfort zone here, truth be told. Anyone who has seen my reviews knows, I am a fiction girlie, never reviewing a memoir before. But, I am always one up for a challenge AND an intriguing book. So, bear with me because this review can't follow my normal format and I may look a little like a fish out of water!
Irresistible Calling is a deep dive memoir of Sean Mitchell – chronicling his life and extensive career from childhood in PA to Hollywood lights in CA. It feels less like a regaling of one man's life and accomplishments, and more like a vibrant cover story from the front page of American History. Sean wasn't born a Texan, but he got here as fast as he could, might have temporarily left to find his way in the world, but has since made it his home.
Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Mitchell's parents moved him to Texas in the mid-1950’s when their hometown's steel industry took a downturn. Well educated, we are invited in to share in his academic career, family – including the heartbreaking loss of his parents, friendships (Tommy Lee Jones being one of note), and how he stumbled from a career path he chose to the career path that chose him.
Mitchell fills this memoir with more than just words to describe memories. He embraces readers with heartfelt emotions and vulnerabilities throughout his life and career. From English teacher to veteran journalist, his bylines have graced publications such as the underground papers in Dallas all the way to D.C. and the Los Angeles Times. But what truly sets this memoir apart is Mitchell's dual lens focus: not only does he include personal aspects, he includes impactful views from history with first-hand accounts.
Irresistible Calling isn't just Mitchell's story. It's a time capsule of America's restless soul from the mid-1950’s through, well, stories he still occasionally drops on his blog to this day. At its heart, it's a story of callings - familial, artistic, and professional - that pull us toward horizons we can barely discern, often at the cost of the lives we leave behind.
I enjoyed my journey alongside Mitchell, experiencing life via his typewriter. While I say again, memoirs are not on the top of my list when it comes to books, but I am thrilled that I took the opportunity to read Irresistible Calling. I recommend this to any fan of memoirs, or just those interested in historical events from a different point of view.
I would like to thank Sean Mitchell and Lone Star Literary Life for the opportunity to read Irresistible Calling. As always, all opinions and reviews are of my own volition. I have not been promised any compensation, current or future, by the author or publisher for a fair and honest review.