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RAWSISTAZ Literary Group Attn: Reviews Editor 5885 Cumming Hwy, Ste 108-232 Sugar Hill, GA 30518
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info@rawsistaz.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rawsistaz Reviewed: Jul 1, 2003
What Becomes of The Brokenhearted by E. Lynn Harris RAW Rating: 4.0 (out of 5) In an emotional, heart-pulling introduction and first chapter, we are given an in-depth look into the real world of E. Lynn Harris, not the glamorized life many of his fans will assume that he’s led. WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKENHEARTED is the highly acclaimed and much anticipated release of the summer. It's a tell-all on the life of an award-winning author who started out self-publishing and has continuously reached new heights writing about relationships between gay and bi-sexual men. We are now able to find out more about the young child and man prior to what we hear about today and have read in the bios that accompany his books. Opening with his suicide attempt in 1990, Harris immediately shows us that his life is very different from the wealthy characters he writes about. He tells of how even at a time in which he was ready to give up living, he was able to come back from “rock-bottom” through his faith in God as well as the support of friends and family. Without delay, he grabs the reader’s attention and then takes you back in time as he shares about his childhood and growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas. The first experience he shares is Easter 1964. He is dressed up in his new jacket and is excited about giving his Easter speech before the church congregation. His happiness is quickly shattered when his father Ben rips apart his new jacket, verbally demeans him and calls him a sissy. He doesn’t quite understand that while his two sisters can proudly twirl around and display their Easter outfits, it’s not befitting for a young boy to do the same. This just one of the scenes he shares about life at the hands of his physically abusive father. He spends much of his childhood in fear of Ben, wondering how a father can be so cruel to his own son; while at the same time sensing that he's different. This sets the stage for a low self-esteem and the need to begin pretending to be something he isn't. WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKENHEARTED takes us from the time Harris is a child through his young adult life. He shares his fears, his desire to be in a loving relationship, and his realization that he does prefer men to women; despite his attempts otherwise. Through his candid and honest recount of those times in his life, we learn of his fight with depression, the abusive relationships he’s had the misfortune to suffer through and the make-believe world he built around himself to hide not only his poor upbringing, but also his sexual preference. His job after college working with IBM and the success he attained in a position that not many other black men held showed his tenacity and perseverance to reach the dreams of success that he put in place as a child back in Arkansas. In spite of this, Harris was often left with a broken heart falling into depression, alcoholism, and the continued closet-lifestyle of a gay man unable to admit it. It saddened me reading that one of my favorite authors had suffered so much heartache, but it brought me joy to read of the lessons he’s passing on to others. In his memoir, we’re able to see him in a more human light; no longer comparing him to his characters. The lessons he shares should do well in showing others the importance of appreciating yourself, being strong in your faith, valuing friendships, being secure in who you are as a person—even if it is different from the role in which society tries to place you, and knowing that your life is yours to live without pretense or being ashamed of your past. I’ll sum it up by saying…the brokenhearted can survive, dream, and move on to claim not only success, but happiness. Reviewed by Tee C. Royal, RAWSISTAZ.com © Copyright 2001-2011
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