Here for It

October 14, 2019
With humor, candor, and some self-deprecation, Thomas, a playwright and Elle columnist, delivers a debut essay collection that explores his search for self, love, and stable employment. Growing up in a “broken-down” Baltimore neighborhood while attending a majority-white private school, Thomas, an African-American, learned that living in a bubble isn’t all that bad—his parents economized and worked tirelessly to insulate him from the world’s injustices. Throughout, he deals with imposter syndrome, as when his college acceptance letters include invitations to events for students of color, causing him to ask himself, “Was I the black they were looking for?” Upon beginning at Columbia, he tentatively enters the gay dating scene; questions his Baptist upbringing, in which “being gay was such a sin it wasn’t even spoken of”; and falls in love with postcolonial literature. After college and several jobs, his life changes when a Facebook post in which he “publicly thirsts” after President Obama goes viral, landing him his Elle dream job. Whether dealing with love, breakups, or other setbacks, Thomas is an affable narrator with a penchant for pop culture, funny quips, and charming humility. Agent: Anna Sproul-Latimer, Ross Yoon Agency.

November 15, 2019
Culture writer and playwright Thomas humorously explores the intersectionality of his identity and his struggle to find his place in the world. Thomas' voice radiates off the page, providing an instant level of familiarity. He explains the stark experiences of being one of the few minorities in suburban, mostly white, private schools. As a result, the columnist is transparent about grappling with his Blackness. Thomas also shares the details of finding a level of comfort with his sexuality, walking readers through awkward dates, taking his boyfriend home to meet his family, the heartbreak of his first adult relationship, and falling in love and marrying the man of his dreams. Thomas' conservative Christian upbringing both lays the foundation for the book and creates a sounding board for relating to the world. By the end of the memoir-in-essays, Thomas has a clear solace with his spirituality and healthy marriage, though readers may be left wondering if he has found comfort in what it means to be a Black man in society.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

Starred review from November 1, 2019

Alternately hilarious, touching, reflective, and insightful, this memoir will delight readers, who may find themselves reading sections of the book aloud to anyone within earshot. Thomas, author of the daily humor column "Eric Reads the News" and host of The Moth, has substantial storytelling skills as a playwright, journalist, and humorist. Here, in his first book of essays, Thomas shares stories about his experiences as a gay black Christian man searching for social and spiritual community. Thomas addresses topics as varied as attending an elite private (and mostly white) high school, black hair and the overwhelming hetero-masculinity of many black barbershops, a possibly satanic Elf on the Shelf doll, and anxiously surveilling his university's club for queer and questioning students. Highlights include a funny retelling of the author's experience babysitting in an isolated mansion for kids who might be urine-obsessed class warriors and a poignant reflection on one of his fellow high school students' friendship and life. Readers are carried lightly but persistently along the current of Thomas's writing and may find they finish the book in just one or two sittings. VERDICT A laugh-out-loud memoir that is strongly recommended for everyone.--Monica Howell, Northwestern Health Sciences Univ. Lib., Bloomington, MN

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2019

An award-winning playwright, host of the Moth in Philadelphia and Washington, DC, and author of the daily cheerful politics- and celebrity-shafting column "Eric Reads the News," on Elle.com, Thomas uses this essay collection-cum-memoir to look back with affecting dark humor at never belonging, whether at his mostly white, suburban high school, his conservative black church, or his Ivy League college. Is life worth continuing? Does he find his own story? You gotta read the book.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.