"Powerful and Funny" LGBT Story

 Title: Womb Man
Subtitle: How I Survived Growing Up in a Booby-Trapped World
Author: Kristine M Smith
Author Website: YellowBalloonPublications.com
Category: LGBT Studies
ISBN: 7881544200682
Reviewer: Shayne Laughter
Where to buy the book: YellowBalloonPublications.com or  http://amzn.to/2munFwP

Book Review for WOMB MAN: How I Survived Growing Up in a Booby-Trapped World

“What I love about Kris Smith's writing is that she is powerful and funny without being mean; compassionate and courageous without asking for a scrap of pity. WOMB-MAN is a fresh, fast read, full of information and rousing emotion.   This is the transgender life story you want to give your teen and pre-teen, your grandmother, pastor, congressman, barista and school counselor.   Kris is walking proof that humor and a focus on what we love saves lives.” - Joy Shayne Laughter, Author, Speaker

                                                                                                     

Synopsis  

                                                   

When I was 32, I did something that made my father immensely proud. Spontaneously, he proclaimed “That’s my boy!” Immediately realizing his error, he shot a panicked look at me, eyes wide with horror. 
Equally shocked and catching my breath, I responded, “It’s all right, Dad.”   

And it really was all right. Because—for the first time in my life—I felt recognized for who I really was: a remarkable man.  

We never spoke of it again. But I began to wonder why it had taken Dad 32 years to “get” me. Or had it? Did he know something I didn’t? And if he did, why was he keeping it a secret?

Was I born intersex and surgically altered as an infant to meet gender norms (the default solution in the mid 50’s for ambiguously-gendered babies, then called hermaphrodites)? Or am I naturally transgender—a man housed in a female body? 

 
There are countless people like me who don’t fit gender norms. Many feel the need to hide who they truly are, to exist without being scolded as strange or feared as foreign. You probably know several of them; they just might not trust you enough to tell you. 

 
Something needs to change. I hope my own story helps that happen. 

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

 The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

One Gay American Gets World of Ink Review

Title of Book: One Gay American

Author: Dennis Milam Bensie

Author Website: http://dennismilambensie.com

 Publisher: CoffeeTown Press

ISBN-10: 1603811532
ISBN-13: 978-1603811538
Price $13.95

Publication Date: September 2012

Genre of Book: Memoir

Heat Level: LGBT

 

Review provided by: World of Ink Network

 

 

 

About the Book:

 

Dennis Milam Bensie is One Gay American. Born in the 1960s and raised with traditional values in Robinson, Illinois, Bensie desperately wanted romance, a beautiful wedding, and a baby to carry on the family name. He denied his sexuality and married a woman at nineteen years old, but fantasized of weddings where he could be the bride. The newlyweds "adopted" a Cabbage Patch Doll and ironically witnessed a Cabbage Patch Doll wedding (a successful fundraiser staged by a local women's club) where the dolls were granted the type of grand ceremony off-limits to gay couples.

In search of his identity as a gay man, Bensie divorced his wife and stumbled through missteps and lessons that still sting his generation: defending against bullies, "disappointing" his parents, and looking for love in gay bars, bath houses and restrooms. He helped his straight friends plan their dream weddings and mourned his gay friends dying of AIDS.

Although true love has not yet come his way, Bensie has learned to love himself. Bensie is the author of the much-lauded memoir, Shorn: Toys to Men, which recounts his battle with paraphilia. One Gay American tells the rest of his story and draws parallels to gay history, decade by decade, with newspaper headlines and quotations. Bensie is the gay neighbor that you either love or hate. Either way, he's got a lot to say and says it with no apologies.

 

EXCERPT:

My first real kiss from a man was from a stranger in the library restroom. As we stood in the bathroom stall, the handsome, dark-haired guy looked me in the eyes, cupped

my face in his hands and softly kissed me. He was much taller and more muscular

than I. We were the only men in the room and he picked me up in a big bear hug and

lifted me until my feet were actually dangling off the floor. He kissed me again and

looked at me. No one else in the bathroom had ever really looked at me.

I felt love for the first time. Real love … ever so brief. The stranger made me feel whole.

All the other guys I had seen in the restroom were focused on genitalia, but this man

saw me as a man with a face and a heart. I had waited my whole life to be

romantically kissed by a man. In that moment my life changed. I could finally be who I

wanted to be. It was such a significant event in my life, and I was sad that it had taken place in such a depressing place.Was this the best I could do? My first romantic kiss in a seedy public restroom? I didn’t even know the guy’s name.

Most of these guys were just looking for quick sex. If I wanted a partner, where would

I find him? Carbondale wasn’t exactly a Mecca for secure gay men.

I just had to have faith in myself and be patient. I was twenty-two, in my sexual prime.

Did I have to wait for love to come to me? Shouldn’t I go out and look for it?

I knew I probably wouldn’t find it in the library restroom or the gay bar. However, it

would only take one guy just like me. If he existed in Carbondale, then surely we would

find each other in the only gay spots in town.

While I was being hugged and kissed, we both heard the sound of Keys entering the

restroom. My kisser released me and fled. My feet were back on the ground. I

remained in my door-less stall. Keys walked by, as I had seen him do dozens of times,

and took his place in the stall next to mine.

I never saw my kisser again.

I left the library bathroom not knowing if Keys had ruined the opportunity of a lifetime

or saved me from myself.

 

BOOK TRAILER:

 http://youtu.be/MdE8s4mMnP0

About the Book:

An honest tell all story about looking for love, wanting a family and coming out as America discovered its own Gay community throughout the last 40 years. Dennis not only shares about the struggles he faces as a Gay American, but also the heartache, struggles and joys of all those who are Gay Americans as they come out to not only family and friends but to their country. Dennis highlights each chapter with the different headlines or political highlights of the Gay Community in American helping us all realize every American has rights and should be treated equal no matter their race, religion or sexual lifestyle.

 

About the Author: 

Dennis Milam Bensie grew up in Robinson, Illinois where his interest in the arts began in high school participating in various community theatre productions. Bensie’s first book,  Shorn: Toys to Men was nominated for the Stonewall Book Award, sponsored by the American Library Association. It was also a pick in the International gay magazine The Advocate as “One of the Best Overlooked Books of 2011″. The author’s short stories have been published by Bay Laurel, Everyday Fiction, and This Zine Will Change Your Lifeand he has also been a feature contributor for The Good Men Project. One Gay American is his second book with Coffeetown Press and it was chosen as a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Indie Excellence Book Awards. He was a presenter at the 2013 Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans. Dennis lives in Seattle with his three dogs.

You can find out more about Dennis Milam Bensie, his memoirs and World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/lhtvxyt

 

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com

 

----- The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.