The kids are all right--but the parents are losing it in Courney Maum's delightful Alan Opts Out

I also feel like maybe one of your inspirations might have been Thoreau.

He's an anti-inspiration.

Okay.

I...

Because I mean the truth about Thoreau versus...

Right.

So I have beef with Thoreau.

I have friends who live very close to the Walden cabin and I've gone and I've seen it and I've seen how close it was to his mother.

And she was like doing his laundry and...

Bringing him lunch.

He was basically at McDowell, you know, like at a writing residency.

And so I have always, when I was a little girl and, you know, I went to school with boys, especially who...

Well, I was in an all-girls school.

There was a boys' school across the way.

And there was a period of time around eighth grade where a lot of the guys, we were assigned Thoreau and they were putting quotes on their backpack.

And there was this one really cute boy who went everywhere in a poncho and just always had to be an outsider.

So Thoreau was very much among us.

And reading Thoreau, I never bought it.

Those 90s ponchos, I can just see it right now.

Yeah, I mean, he had a dog that he claimed it was a wolf and he had people call him wolf.

And I ended up dating him.

So listen, what are we learning? But I was more of a Walt Whitman girl.

I was like, he seems to be walking the walk.

And Thoreau, I just never bought it.

I never bought it.

I also feel like maybe one of your inspirations might have been Thoreau.

He's an anti-inspiration.

Okay.

I...

Because I mean the truth about Thoreau versus...

Right.

So I have beef with Thoreau.

I have friends who live very close to the Walden cabin and I've gone and I've seen it and I've seen how close it was to his mother.

And she was like doing his laundry and...

Bringing him lunch.

He was basically at McDowell, you know, like at a writing residency.

And so I have always, when I was a little girl and, you know, I went to school with boys, especially who...

Well, I was in an all-girls school.

There was a boys' school across the way.

And there was a period of time around eighth grade where a lot of the guys, we were assigned Thoreau and they were putting quotes on their backpack.

And there was this one really cute boy who went everywhere in a poncho and just always had to be an outsider.

So Thoreau was very much among us.

And reading Thoreau, I never bought it.

Those 90s ponchos, I can just see it right now.

Yeah, I mean, he had a dog that he claimed it was a wolf and he had people call him wolf.

And I ended up dating him.

So listen, what are we learning? But I was more of a Walt Whitman girl.

I was like, he seems to be walking the walk.

And Thoreau, I just never bought it.

I never bought it.