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Feb 08, 2017DorisWaggoner rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This first memoir is ragged around the edges. (Spoiler alerts follow.) The author's happy family has holes in it that he's unaware of. The son of a Missionary Baptist preacher in Alabama who also runs an auto dealership where the employees pray daily, including the author, who works there in the summer, he's uncomfortable in that role. His mother to whom he's close kowtows to his father. He has a girlfriend he's grown up with; their church expects a wedding soon. But he knows it's fake, as he's attracted to guys. And his father's clear this is a sin. He can't wait to go off to college, where he pretends he doesn't go to church. On his first day he meets a man who soon rapes him. Soon after, the same man outs him to his family. His family is naive enough not to ask how the man knows, or to ask Garrard if it's true. They take it for granted, and hunt for a cure. He's enrolled in a two week day program based on the 12 step program, and gets more and more appalled--and attracted to one of the men. Finally, before the two weeks are up, he leaves. His mother understands, but he gets blamed when his father gets blamed for his actions. I don't know if my negative reaction comes from my faith background's tolerance or my parents' tolerance. He's now living in Sofia, Bulgaria, teaching writing, and working in LGBTQ affairs. From this I'm guessing he got himself straightened out from his own point of view. Well written, and I learned how painful life like that can be.