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Post by TeddyBower on May 11, 2019 17:37:37 GMT -5
Reading this on Kindle and am on Ch. 5, so not too far into it. 16 year old closeted Southern Baptist boy growing up in an Atlanta, Georgia Suburb. I'm not sure where it's headed yet but the author's unholy humor has me in stitches. Having been raised in fundamentalist culture I can very much relate and love the humor, the longing, and the temptation... And the guilt. Always the guilt.
I'll let you know my overall impression later, but so far completely worth the reasonable, Amazon price.
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Post by TeddyBower on May 11, 2019 20:14:07 GMT -5
In this not-so-humorous scene it's evening. He's in his room, on his bed, his sketch pad out. He's deeply and passionately engrossed in creating an erotic, pencil and charcoal drawing of himself and his latest crush. There's a knock on the door and his mother enters. In the ensuing conversation she mentions that someday he'll have kids of his own and will better understand a parent's concerns for their children...
“Night, Mom.” My door closes behind her, and I stuff my sketchpad back into my bag, any longing to continue snuffed out. The weight of her words has extinguished the creative spark once propelling me. Nothing kills a boner faster than mom guilt. I’ll never be able to give her what she wants. The perfect family, a blushing bride, and grandchildren for her to take to Sunday school. I mean, sure, I can get married and fake it. Maybe even stomach a couple of kids. But that just seems cruel. There’s no easy answer. A whimper escapes my throat, and a tear falls before I can blink it away. The sorrow is heavy tonight, swelling in my chest and squeezing the air from my lungs. Fingers search along the bed, latching onto the soft plush of a pillow. I draw the cushy square into my chest, wrapping my arms around it as more tears fall. My lips move with silent words, a prayer I’ve recited a thousand times before. But all my prayers go unanswered.
Eberhart, Alexander C. There Goes Sunday School (pp. 62-63). 7 Sisters Publishing, LLC. Kindle Edition.
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Post by TeddyBower on May 19, 2019 22:49:09 GMT -5
After a couple week delay I finally got around to finishing this book.
On the one hand, in many ways this tale follows the same trajectory as the online tales from 15+ years ago. Gay kids in high school fall in love. Conservative family. Outing at school. Drama. Hospitalization.
On the other hand this tale does not have a setting of 20 years ago. It's current in it's circumstances, Set in a modern day Atlanta Suberb with a fairly wide acceptance of LGBT citizens in a modern city, but also with a heavy southern conservative religious parental influence over their children who send them to a ultra conservative religious high school in order to prevent them being contaminated by "the world." On the one hand these boys see the acceptance all around them. They are able to visit areas of the city where they can be themselves then have to return home, to their restrictive religious environment. The dichotomy is noticeable and disquieting, at once liberating and stifling.
All in all a good tale. Worth the read.
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