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Author Marjoram recalls his life battles with differentness: he had ADHD/ADD and is gay. He had a pleasant childhood in Australia, notably absorbing his parents’ love for music. He believes that his father’s ability to repress his memories of years as a prisoner of war in Asia became a model for him to hide his love for men and try to live by a normal pattern. In his teens, Marjoram had encounters with boys and was not interested in girls. He tried a short-lived marriage and pursued his musical abilities in unconventional settings. Many school and career changes revealed him as someone constantly questioning authority, but in a second, longer marriage, he and his wife pursued a shared devotion and conformance to various Christian religious organizations. His philosophy gradually evolved to an inclusive view of spirituality expressed in blog posts and emotive poetry.
Marjoram’s book is enjoyable, written in a sometimes offhand, amusing style that may lighten, but not undercut, the seriousness of its subject matter. He is able to re-examine his earlier self and apply rational criticism. He treats other matters similarly: his marriages, his upbringing, and the general sense of alienation that he now experiences regarding most Christian sects. He vividly describes his misery as a gay man trying to find love at a time when tolerance for LGBTQ persons was not the norm. He was sometimes suicidal but conscientiously attempted to play the difficult part of a dutiful, straight husband to his two wives. Harsh church doctrine made him feel worse about himself until he eventually developed a profound belief structure: God created us with love; he loves us as we are and hopes to make us more loving by example. Marjoram’s frank, engaging memoir can serve as an accessible comfort to anyone experiencing societal rejection.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review