Broome's book tells his story of growing up as a gay, Black man in small town Ohio, and it is unlike any memoir I've ever read. From his "be a man" father and his exhausted, disillusioned mother, to the relentless bullies and bigots in the schoolyard, to the alcohol and drug-hazed young adulthood as an out gay man, Broome shares an unflinchingly honest and tough account of his reality. His writing is superb, full of self-awareness and laced with just enough humor to avoid becoming a pity party.
Broome frames the memoir with his present bus ride through town, as he observes a young Black man and his toddler son. It's an effective literary device, alternating between this little boy with a wide open future and the little boy turned man that Broome has become. I couldn't help but reflect on how far we've come as a country in terms of embracing all people, and how far we have to go.
Broome frames the memoir with his present bus ride through town, as he observes a young Black man and his toddler son. It's an effective literary device, alternating between this little boy with a wide open future and the little boy turned man that Broome has become. I couldn't help but reflect on how far we've come as a country in terms of embracing all people, and how far we have to go.