American Foursquare, Behind the Facade

This revised and expanded memoir compiles stories from living and surviving my first 35 years of life growing up in an Irish Catholic family. On the surface it all appeared normal. Behind the facade, not so much. The memoir then continues with my life going forward as a gay man after I came out at 35. Over the years I have told some of these stories and the response has been the same, "OMG, you should write a book!" Hearing this comment again very recently, I decided it was now or never. This memoir takes me from birth to age 35 when, in order to not take my own life, I brought to the surface the gay man that existed internally in me. It then continues with stories from the second 35 years of my life. The stories are of intense sibling rivalry, emotional and physical abuse by my primary caretaker, a continuing search for connection without harm and a determination to survive and take personal control. Included at the end are a series of photos from my life and some of its inhabitants. Through the book but primarily in the Conclusion I offer psychological insights derived from my many years as a practicing psychotherapist. All life is a journey; this is mine.