If You Knew Then What I Know Now
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.59 (721 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 1932511946 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 176 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-01-26 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
In the summer of 2009, he was awarded a residency at the MacDowell Colony. After graduating, he lived in Chicago for ten years and worked in advertising. This is essay as an argument for the intimate—not the sensational—and an embrace of all the skinned knees in our stumble toward adulthood.Ryan Van Meter grew up in Missouri and studied English at the University of Missouri-Columbia. In fourteen linked essays, If You Knew Then What I Know Now reinvents the memoir with all-encompassing empathy—for bully and bullied alike. He currently lives in California where he is an assistant professor of creative nonfiction at the University of San Francisco.. New York Magazine's The Year in Books pickThe Millions' A Year in Reading pickSalon's Writers Choose Their Favorite BooksThe middle American coming-of-age has found new life in Ryan Van Meter's coming-out, made as strange as it is familiar by acknowledging the role played by gender and sexuality. A father pitches baseballs at his hapless son and a grandmot
1) . In this moving debut, a collection of 14 linked essays, Van Meter charts the repercussions of growing up in Missouri with a secret. And before that, I didn't know I was gay, but I knew I was different, and I didn't want to be that either." Thanks to Van Meter's honesty, essays on his own childhood, identity, and love have a profoundly universal appeal. (Apr. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. "Every time, I'm the small kid who slouches at the quiet corners of the action, stands still and tries not to be noticed." A season of practice culminating in a painful injury allows a new perspective to emerge: "This summer, we've been trying to be certain kinds of men we probably weren't ever meant to be." V
Stunning Memoir of Growing Up Gay in the Midwest I picked this up at a brick and mortar bookstore last week and can't put it down. Van Meter's memoir of growing up as a deeply repressed homosexual in a mostly unaccepting family and community is brutally honest and heart wrenching. Those who live in and around St. Louis, Missouri will recognize the conservative suburbs of St. Charles in this book--a place notorious for touting 'family' and 'Christian morality.' For those not familiar with Missouri's socio-cultural and political geography, let's just say: some people did. Brilliant Snapshots of Life Chance Lee There were few essays in this collection that didn't leave me misty-eyed for some reason or another, yet I never once felt manipulated.Van Meter's collection is a series of essays, in mostly chronological order, about his childhood. Many of the essays revolve around coming to terms with his sexuality. Because most of the essays were published in a variety of publications (I think maybe all of them), and not written explicitly for a book, there is sometimes an overlap of detail. This might annoy me, but with van Meter, it. Wonderful read about coming of age and self discovery Anthony Schofield I loved the book. It was sensitive yet straight forward. The descriptions of thoughts, feelings and situations were so clear I could really feel myself experiencing them. The author has no axe to grind, he's just presenting a wonderful narrative that is sensitive, thoughtful and insightful. Through several short stories the book gave insight into another aspect (being gay) of self discovery from age 5 through adulthood. I found the writing style to be quite engaging.