Comment

bibliotechnocrat
Oct 05, 2016bibliotechnocrat rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Coming from a family of silence myself, I found this memoir all too real. Ostensibly Hodgman's account of moving from Manhattan to Missouri to care for his ailing mother, the book is really about Hodgman himself overcoming shame, working through survivor's guilt related to the AIDS crisis, and finding the strength in himself to carry on, to be the man he needs to be for his mother's sake. At times, reading this is like watching a car wreck - helpless to reach out and tell the young Hodgman that it will be okay. In the end, it is a hopeful narrative about the human capacity for growth. A good read. My favourite quote is from a sequence in rehab. A counsellor asks "who said you were bad [for being gay]? Hodgman responds: "Are you, like, new to this culture?"