What Becomes of the Brokenhearted : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: A Tremendously Courageous Personal Gift
Review: Courageous, admirable, heartfelt, heart warming, emotional. All of these adjectives I would use to describe the memoirs of E. Lynn Harris. Mr. Harris has taken a great step in life, writing down his life for the entire world to see and make comment on and that takes tremendous courage. I can only hope for him, that this is a liberating experience and some of the demons that have fought him have finally turned him loose. Usually not an avid fan of his fictional writing, this chronological autobiography has allowed me to understand more of his fiction and the need that he has for its writing. Totally inspirational, I've garnered a new respect for this caring, spirited man.

The title alone compelled me to read. To think, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted really is captivating. So many people walk around life with a seemingly perfect outer shell, inside is totally in a shambles. Without an outlet to express oneself, we can easily become brokenhearted and disillusioned. Harris experienced this many times during his life starting with an abusive step father, continuing with a short reunion with his father, his seemingly inability to fit in at school, attempted suicide and general unhappiness with his life. It seems that he spent over half of his life looking for someone to love him and seeking ways in which to love himself, while those of us who would look at him would see IBM Executive, a workingman driving around in the latest greatest car, always on top of his game. Many times this search proved tearful for both author and reader. I found this memoir to be elegantly written and riveting.

I applaud Mr. Harris. He's shared a part of his soul with the world and I appreciate his efforts. I hope he has found the writing to be therapeutic and those of us who read, take away valuable lessons of understanding, tolerance and hope that people can overcome obstacles and achieve what they themselves find appropriate. There is a great and uplifting lesson to be learned within the pages of What Becomes of the Brokenhearted. You can overcome adversity and arrive at achievement. You Go Boy!

Rating:
Summary: Humble beginnings
Review: E. Lynn Harris gives the reader a thorough background understanding of where he was born, to whom, and his struggles to overcome feelings of inferiority & insecurity. What's missing is how he became a writer and what drove him to write. Most of his adult career was as an IBM and computer sales rep, which was a surprise, but it's not until near the end that he discusses writing and publishing.

The first half of the book is very engrossing, as he talks about his two fathers and his mother. But the second half does not divulge much about the man. He discusses going to college, dating, and successes as a school office holder. His homosexuality is widely known. He recounts chance encounters, pickups, lovers, heartbreaks, it's almost like reading a romance novel. Surprisingly, he glazes over the AIDS epidemic and how it effected he and his friends. Only 1 page is devoted to AIDS. The second part could have been more poetic and in-depth.

Rating:
Summary: Humble beginnings
Review: E. Lynn Harris gives the reader a thorough background understanding of where he was born, to whom, and his struggles to overcome feelings of inferiority & insecurity. What's missing is how he became a writer and what drove him to write. Most of his adult career was as an IBM and computer sales rep, which was a surprise, but it's not until near the end that he discusses writing and publishing.

The first half of the book is very engrossing, as he talks about his two fathers and his mother. But the second half does not divulge much about the man. He discusses going to college, dating, and successes as a school office holder. His homosexuality is widely known. He recounts chance encounters, pickups, lovers, heartbreaks, it's almost like reading a romance novel. Surprisingly, he glazes over the AIDS epidemic and how it effected he and his friends. Only 1 page is devoted to AIDS. The second part could have been more poetic and in-depth.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Triumph!
Review: E. Lynn Harris is a great fiction writer, which sometimes makes the transition to fact difficult. But his life story, which represents triumph of the spirit and determination to overcome obstacles is a true winner.
The book opens in the early 1990's, prior to Harris's success as an author, and uses an attempted suicide as a starting point for this biography. It's a chilling opening, but it sets the tone for many of the harsh realities presented by Harris.
An early childhood filled with abuse, teenage years spent questioning sexuality, and lifelong battles with depression certainly aren't the stuff of happy memories, yet Harris raises his many issues with clarity and purpose.
The two sections of Harris's life that make for the most gripping reading are his college experiences and his battles with depression. The college years are both funny and heartbreaking, and Harris is at his best when presenting this type of material. His entry and rise up the leadership rung of his college fraternity make for the best reading, if only because they are cast against a backdrop of his emerging sexuality (and the challenges that raises as a Greek), and his role as the first male cheerleader at the University of Alabama (which gives Harris an opportunity to tell some great stories). His battles with depression are significant as he comes to grasp with the fact that his depression is chemical based, and not the result of (as he believed) his issues with his sexuality. This portion of the book really hits the reader hard, and his overall success in treatment truly warms the heart.
Anyone familiar with Harris's successes as an author know how the story ends - he has become incredibly successful, and happy with who he is, which is the ultimate triumph of this book. Fans of his fiction will enjoy getting to know the real E. Lynn Harris - and fans of autobiographies should also enjoy this gritty yet warm story.

Rating:
Summary: A Page-Turner Destined to Be a Book Club Hit
Review: E. Lynn Harris's novels about black middle class homosexual and heterosexual life have captured the fancy of thousands of readers. His success is remarkable because his honesty about gay, bisexual and "confused" African American men hasn't turned off women readers and has sparked discussion about male secrecy, sex and lies.

Many of his readers, myself among them, have wondered about the relationship between Harris and Raymond Tyler, the protagonist of his first novel and some of his subsequent work. Because the novels are written in such a straightforward, conversational tone, it's easy to imagine that the author is telling his own thinly-veiled story.

With his new memoir, WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKENHEARTED, Harris both dispels and confirms the questions about whether or not Raymond is really his doppelganger. As Harris tells it, Raymond's perfect middle class upbringing with loving parents is a far cry from his humbler and, often, more cruel beginnings. But the character's life experiences closely mirror those of the author's adult life, including their search for love, sex, and a path out of depression.

Like his popular novels, Harris's memoir is a page-turner that feels more like a long, confessional letter or an all-night conversation. Its principle merits are as a record of the modern gay black man's experience and an insider text for his legions of fans.

Having read all of Harris's novels, I was very curious about the who's who aspect of his memoir and pleased to meet some of the real-life people who inspired his fictional characters. However, his conversational style was sometimes disappointing because the memoir occasionally fails to fully explore various experiences. And while it seems he wrote some of the last pages earlier this year, Harris chooses to keep some secrets to himself. Unfortunately for the reader, he only hints at the happiness he has found in the last decade and keeps those tales undercover.

His honesty about battling depression and "lying Lynn" are also important aspects of his story. As his novels forced women to face facts about male sexuality and gave gay black men their own serial, his memoir will help raise the veil from the issue of depression.

Harris's first nonfiction work will likely be another book club and talkabout hit. Hopefully, it will also open hearts and minds as his novels have for the last decade.

--- Reviewed by Bernadette Adams Davis

Rating:
Summary: Brave, Courageous, Exquisite.
Review: E.Lynn Harris deserves more than a 5 star rating. The reason for that is how could I rate the book any less than the max, when a person puts on paper their life?! I would be saying that God created a imperfect life for E.Lynn Harris (I wouldn't dare say that). E.Lynn Harris has written about his life (real life) not fictional characters. He put on paper his innermost feelings and it doesn't matter what people think, it is his life and actually he didn't write it, he just lived it. I thank him for sharing his personal struggle with homosexuality, bisexuality, abuse, misfortune, low self esteem, friendship, corporate america and his struggles. I felt for "Lynn" and I am glad that he had the courage to put on paper his memoirs cause it sheds a different light on how a man deals with heterosexuality vs. homosexuality and the secret torment of being in the closet. Very enlightening and he deserves more stars for having the courage to write it. Keep on E.Lynn...Keep on.

Rating:
Summary: GUT-WRENCHING....HEARTBREAKING........
Review: Fans of the "E" Man (as I call him) are allowed into the personal life of this wonderful author and man....difficult to read at times, this is a very emotional story of the difficulties facing men, specifically Black men, who are gay in a world that offers up enough obstacles to those who are straight.

I have long been a fan of E. Lynn Harris, and I will admit to some disappointment when I found that his newest work was an autobiography; ironically, he even makes reference in the book to the fact that many of his fans may be disappointed. You won't be!

Follow "Lynn" from his childhood days in Arkansas, at the hands of his abusive stepfather....see the love showered on him from his family....walk with him through his college days, and be proud of his academic achievements....and cry throughout, as he struggles to find romantic love....from any sex....and struggles with the fact that he is, truly, gay.

I cried many times throughout this book, but I find true solace and irony in the fact that the same man who struggled with alcoholism and depression in his quest to find love is loved by so many the world over today.

God Bless you, "Lynn......."

Rating:
Summary: A piecemeal autobiography, not a memoir
Review: For those of you who are short on time:
Daddy didn't love him. Long suffering Mama did what she could. Major inferiority complex. Oodles of sex with the wrong guys. Drinking gets out of hand. Writes a best seller, finds Mr. Right, and is just fine now.

Rating:
Summary: What Becomes of the Brokenhearted : A Memoir
Review: Harris is one of America's top writers, chronicling the experiences of gay and heterosexual African Americans through books such as Invisible Life and Just as I Am. His first nonfiction offering provides listeners with a glimpse into his life, starting with his childhood in Little Rock, AR, with an abusive father and loving mother. The author discovers his sexual identity in high school and college and has bouts with depression and alcohol abuse. Harris pulls no punches, and listeners will want to reach out and touch the little boy who must deal with the daily whippings from the man who turns out to be his stepfather; the young man who wants to find love with another man but must hide his feelings from other blacks at his college; the man who goes into sales at IBM and deals with the pain of disastrous relationships with drinks and late-night parties; and the man who realizes that writing his story can help his people learn the truth about the homosexuals they live with and love. Read by Richard Allen, this wonderful book is full of passion and joy and provides a message of hope to those within the gay community and those fighting depression. For all libraries, especially those with collections in African American, gay, lesbian, and transgender studies and in mental health

Rating:
Summary: Living Proof That Everyone Must Deal and Accept Their Past
Review: Harris' memoirs "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" covers E Lynn Harris' journey of finally meeting, understanding, and loving the real E Lynn Harris. This required journey begins at age eight through today. You won't find any elaborate details about his intimate life, only how he felt about his partner. This was done in very good taste. The emotional details show the similarities between a man-man relationship and a man-woman relationship. We go through the same joys, games, heartbreaks and deal with them in the same way. Personally, I found "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" to be so much deeper than a gay black man talking about his life.
"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" is proof that one can overcome the pains from the past and be triumphant. Harris' memoirs is not a story about a gay black man, but the story about a person - regardless of gender, socioeconomic level, race, sexuality, and background. His major struggle throughout life was his need to be accepted by others and own lack of self-esteem - him being black and gay were secondary struggles.
Through his memoirs, he demonstrates the power and freedom that truth brings to an individual, the importance of having supportive family and friends, and the strength of religion when you feel alone. All of those combined served as his determination and motivation to write his first book, and seem to heighten his passion to continue writing.
To see Harris today (I saw him at a reading/book signing event), his memoirs help to negate the stigma in the black community that seeking professional psychological help is unacceptable or a dark secret that must be kept. His time in therapy was necessary! The world may not know E Lynn Harris if he had not sought professional help.
Being a fan of Harris, reading his memoirs made me feel closer to him. To finally meet and speak to Harris was truly an opportunity. The man in the book is the same in person. He's very personable and seems to care that each fan gets his or her book(s) sign, can talk to him on a 1-on-1 basis, and have their picture taken with him. (He made it clear that he didn't want pictures taken OF HIM but WITH HIM.)