Viewpoint: Guy Trebay’s Scrapbook of 1970s New York Haunts and Exhilarates

The first impression of celebrated New York Times Style writer Guy Trebay is that of a lanky, abnormally curious, button-downed preppy guy who is the last person one would ever think cut his journalistic teeth among the louche worlds of drug addicts, drag queens, performance artists and other assorted denizens of 1970s New York nightlife.

But that’s exactly what he did, dropping out of his suburban Long Island high school and hightailing it to “The City.” In his new memoir, “Do Something: Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of ’70s New York,” Trebay paints a dark yet relatable picture of a childhood filled with the kinds of secrets most families have but which never see the light of day.

Upon learning about the reality of growing up Trebay, one can’t help but cheer him on for having the gumption to get away from a household chock full of dysfunction and denial. How he rose to the heights of journalism without a high school diploma, let alone a college degree, is a testament to his extraordinary storytelling ability and command of the language.

Indeed, Trebay paints with words that pull the reader into his world in the same manner that one can get lost in an impressionist painting. The sights, the sounds, the smells and the hangovers that were a part of a certain sector of ’70s New York life — I was there and am still recovering — are laid out in Trebay’s unique style of writing, one that takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride from Andy Warhol’s bohemian world to the crack-fueled heartbreak of the South Bronx, to war-torn Eastern Europe, to the glamorous runways of Pitti Uomo, Florence’s biannual high-level men’s fashion gathering.

Woven into these diverse places are the societal earthquake of the emerging HIV/AIDS pandemic, decades dealing with a fugitive sister, and the realization that so much of what Trebay’s childhood was, actually wasn’t.

For anyone old enough to have lived through this era, this book presents a nostalgic journey back to a time that should have killed us all. Fortunately, Trebay managed to get through it all not only with his life but, unlike many, with his memory intact and circumspect.

The takeaway creeps up on you long after the last page is turned — which is exactly what the best rearview-mirror looks at life are supposed to do.

Steven Stolman is a designer and author who lives in Southampton. “In Conversation: Steven Stolman With Author Guy Trebay” will be held at the Southampton Arts Center on Thursday, August 22, at 6 p.m., followed by a book signing, cocktails and canapés. The event is free to the public, but reservations are strongly suggested, as capacity is limited. Visit southamptonartscenter.org for more information or to make reservations.