Swish: My Quest To Become The Gayest Person Ever (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
I was slightly confused by the shortened title of the Kindle edition, Swish: A Quest, but after reading Joel Derfner's explanation I think he made the right choice in paring it down. I absolutely love the original title, but it sounds a bit like a joke. In fact when I told my husband what I was reading he laughed hysterically because he thought I was kidding, "No, that's really the title!" I explained, which inspired more laughter. Anyways, I really enjoyed this book, it's lovely. I thought it struck just the right note between pleasurably humorous froth and probing self examination. Most importantly I *liked* Joel Derfner. As a fellow anxiety and depression sufferer, I was actually pretty impressed at how often he managed to put himself out there socially, in spite of some pretty crippling fear and self doubt. It's also a really honest book, I was able to keep the faith in our author till the end. The last chapter is a hard read, but it really helps humanize those poor tortured people that make the devastating decision to closet themselves and attempt to "pray the gay away." Ugh. I sincerely applaud Joel's ability to survive that atrocious conference with his sanity and humanity intact. I picked this book up one day, thinking it was full of sass and humor, hoping to elevate my mood. Instead, the writer chronicled his life of anxiety and anger, exactly what I was trying to avoid. Still, I read on, having almost nothing else in the apartment but a thick book on serial killers. He is a good writer and I cared about his stories. I even looked him up on the Internet to make sure his happy ending was ongoing and was happy to see it was!
What do You think about Swish: My Quest To Become The Gayest Person Ever (2008)?
This was a humorous story that jumped around quite a bit but was very open and vulnerable.
—ksaroha
Loved this. Great sense of story and self-deprecating sense of humor.
—Myranda
Really funny.Also I liked the story about investigating ex-gays.
—NattyJ
