Are You Ready?

Rating:
Summary: Just what I was looking for
Review: I just finished reading this book and found it to be very helpful. I liked the style in which the author presented the top of dealing with midlife as a gay man. Each chapter ended with a series of questions that you could evaluate yourself on the chapter's topics, both from a perspective of where you have been and where you are going. The author used interviews and interactions with several of his clients as he discussed a topic. These gay men were from diverse backgrounds and in different situations. It made the book relevant to me. Many gay-oriented books seem to be targeting gay men from large "Gay Mecca" communities on the East and West Coast. They often forget that the typical gay male lives in smaller communities, typically in the Midwest or South and life experiences are different than those immersed in a totally gay environment and culture. This book was able to speak to gay men in all communities. All in all, I would recommend this book for a good starting point in exploring midlife as a gay man. The reading was easy. It answered several of my concerns and opened me up for self-reflection as I explore this issue more.

Rating:
Summary: Are Your Ready to Part With Your Money On This Fluff?
Review: I was deeply disappointed with Mr. Insensee's book, and moreover, surprised at the "Readers Digest Condensed" style of writing and format. Sadly, the book just rehashes the same information over and again, and offers no really, deep concrete solutions of dealing with being gay and middle aged. It was irritating in that it asked dozens of questions of the reader and offered no indepth insight into various topics.

Mr.Insensee interviewed a series of middle aged gay men, and has quoted their thoughts and concerns in this book. Often these quotes are interjected into the manuscript, cutting off any real solutions to problems. It is just commentary without the advice. Fluff and page filling that is akin to a C- minus college term paper. These quotes get in the way of the book, and are scattered throughout the manuscript in places where more depth is needed on certain topics.

This book panders to middle aged gay men and was a ... disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Are Your Ready to Part With Your Money On This Fluff?
Review: I was deeply disappointed with Mr. Insensee's book, and moreover, surprised at the "Readers Digest Condensed" style of writing and format. Sadly, the book just rehashes the same information over and again, and offers no really, deep concrete solutions of dealing with being gay and middle aged. It was irritating in that it asked dozens of questions of the reader and offered no indepth insight into various topics.

Mr.Insensee interviewed a series of middle aged gay men, and has quoted their thoughts and concerns in this book. Often these quotes are interjected into the manuscript, cutting off any real solutions to problems. It is just commentary without the advice. Fluff and page filling that is akin to a C- minus college term paper. These quotes get in the way of the book, and are scattered throughout the manuscript in places where more depth is needed on certain topics.

This book panders to middle aged gay men and was a ... disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: I found this information very useful
Review: I was surprised at how much I have gained by the simple common sense solutions, to issues I am faceing as I grow older, provided by this book. I was most impressed with the fact that it spoke to me in very relatable terms. The author addresses current topics and problems that I have personally experienced. Such as, coming into Middleage without the friends I had been growing up with in my 30s. And living in a social system that is focused on appearences and youthful activities. I did benefit more from the direct information provided by the author, vs the individuals statements from the case study participants. He focused on the topics and solutions for dealing with them, where the individuals (many times) just pointed out their own specific problems.

Rating:
Summary: Good ideas presented as a first draft.
Review: If you have ever wanted to read a book (about being gay and middle aged) with good ideas that are presented as a first working draft of a manuscript with no revisons, then this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Good ideas presented as a first draft.
Review: Several years ago I found Rik Isensee's book "Growing Up Gay in a Dysfunctional Family" (which has since been reprinted as "Reclaiming Your Life") and found it to be one of the best gay self-help books I'd ever encountered. I had high expectations for "Are You Ready?" based on his previous book ... but, sadly, "Are You Ready?" isn't in the same league as his earlier book. While there is much good information included in "Are You Ready?" (I found the sections on dealing with aging parents and the emotional turmoil of midlife very good), the book seems a little overly general. My biggest complaint is the inclusion of comments from men in a case study. It really made it difficult to read when the book was constantly shifting back and forth between the author's third-person commentary and the study participants' first-person comments. I finally gave up reading any of the comments by the men in the study whom Isensee quotes ... but then I managed to finish the book in a single evening. The issues of gay men entering midlife is a subject of interest to me (at the age of 42) and it deserves careful examination. Unfortunately, "Are You Ready?" doesn't seem to be the book to provide much in-depth examination.