Here for It; Or, How to Save Your Soul in America: Essays

I'm not always this format's biggest fan. Funny online personality turns in a collection of essays for a debut novel, the publisher hoping for some of that online recognition turning into book sales. Exhibit A: a columnist for Elle.com who's day job originated with a presidential thirst tweet citing a photo of Barack Obama, Justin Trudeau and Enrique Peña Nieto as “Tom Ford presents The Avengers.”

Still, Here For It and subscribed to the newsletter. Seriously, R. Eric Thomas has a newsletter I've been getting for months now. That means I can see through his suburban lies and know despite all his neighbourhood foreboding laid out in one of his essays, citing a distrust of living anywhere with a lawn, he and his husband David recently bought their first home.

Fine, showing my hand here and revealing how I'm part of that online fandom and in the pocket of black, gay columnists, but hear me out. Eric brings his A game here. A Moth veteran he knows how to build a story. He's a playwright who understands a good narrative arc. Eric's story on his high school crush Electra is as perfect and touching a story as you could want. And wrestling with his own deep Christian faith as a gay man that would go on to marry a Presbyterian pastor isn't all Whitney Houston in The Preacher's Wife and is fraught and thoughtful. I liked this collection more than I thought I would. Filtered through some queer ebonics sure - qween and gurl are proper pronouns here - still a fun respite. Worth it.