"To people—gay and straight—who scoff at marriage, I say: Do not underestimate it."
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My Two Wives and Three Husbands by S. Stanley Gordon Savant Books
book review by Laura Roberts
Gordon's memoir covers his life and times as a gay man, from deep inside the closet to out and proud. Through he knows early on he's drawn to men, Gordon describes leading a double life to hide his proclivities from his traditional Jewish family. He marries not one but two women and fathers a child before he finally finds love with his first "husband" in 1961. Along the way he also gets caught up in show businesses, rubs elbows with celebrities, works his way through the ranks as an optician, experiences love and loss and love again, and lives his life by Mae West's philosophy: "I owe it all to dirty living!"
While the book could've been about 100 pages shorter, Gordon's vivacious autobiography is compelling enough to keep reading even when the prose begins to lag. Tales of Hollywood legends are peppered throughout the story of his life, lending some credibility to the author's youthful notion that the only gays in America are living in California. Even as the truth of the matter becomes obvious, and Gordon combats homosexual stereotypes amongst friends and family, there are unique twists to his run in show business that will keep the reader guessing.
Chronicling his own adventures in work and play, Gordon also lovingly depicts each of his life's big romances. Highly recommended for anyone who's ever been in love or taken a chance on doing things a little differently in search of their own happily ever after.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review