In Tell Me Please, What's the Matter, David Booth combines memoir, poetry, fiction, and essay to explore masculinity, artistic creation, family bonds, and the role of cultural narratives in shaping identity amid social discord and global uncertainty. While this hybrid approach can reflect a chaotic mind, Booth creates moments of profound reflection, highlighting both the instability of contemporary life and the grounding achieved by paying attention. The thirty-five pieces collected here play out tensions between doubt and meaning-making, offering readers a eeply personal yet universally resonant meditation on selfhood and creativity.