Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

If You Knew Then What I Know Now
If You Knew Then What I Know Now
If You Knew Then What I Know Now
Ebook189 pages3 hours

If You Knew Then What I Know Now

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

The acclaimed author explores his path from closeted child to out-and-proud adult in this deeply personal collection of fourteen linked essays.
 
“[A] moving debut. . . . Thanks to Van Meter’s honesty, essays on his own childhood, identity, and love have a profoundly universal appeal.” —Publishers Weekly
 
The middle American coming-of-age has found new life in Ryan Van Meter’s coming-out, made as strange as it is familiar by acknowledging the role played by gender and sexuality. In fourteen linked essays, If You Knew Then What I Know Now reinvents the memoir with all-encompassing empathy—for bully and bullied alike.
 
This deft collection maps the unremarkable yet savage landscapes of childhood with compassion and precision, allowing awkwardness its own beauty. This is essay as an argument for the intimate—not the sensational—and an embrace of all the skinned knees in our stumble toward adulthood.
 
“As Van Meter drifts elliptically between his childhood as a closeted young boy and his life now as an openly gay man, he draws the reader inexorably to this book, and its compelling weight.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer
 
“To read a book this observant, this fiercely honest, and this effortlessly beautiful is to feel the very pulse of contemporary American essays.” —John D’Agata, author of The Lifespan of a Fact
 
“These essays are insistently honest, darkened by melancholy and yearning, yet polished by prose so lithe, so elegant that Van Meter’s human presence brightens every line.” —Lia Purpura, author of It Shouldn’t Have Been Beautiful
LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 5, 2011
ISBN9781936747405
If You Knew Then What I Know Now

Related to If You Knew Then What I Know Now

Related ebooks

Personal Memoirs For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for If You Knew Then What I Know Now

Rating: 4.4500001 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

10 ratings1 review

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An enjoyable collection of connected essays on the gay experience. The essay "To Bear, To Carry: Notes on Faggot," was particularly thought provoking. Van Meter is an excellent writer and I look forward to reading his future work.

Book preview

If You Knew Then What I Know Now - Ryan Van Meter

L`book_preview_excerpt.html}[Ƒ}sW` ;qx×M%"44U7zy=T5EM'lvS[^_vm^4]޽㻿K^q|n|ͿノSz_%V_~6Vjb{UZs^U^ڧK¦~94 n]ƪKfЄ%W4-[>Ui[).Ɣn-jv_).)JVܷw J XЬ[(J?}k1RhS!K 7'8u4Qe)/9-U^lkvxrӚ"^îqm &bGX,ܐ.dqKդ-G?:& Qd5>V5OikOFyD&ޱ 뱟sn !곎zpgt_\rt0N7h0Sl.³Otl+RU(ia._KB9)ݴaV mW]B(n)6ZiY"2GmjMaP \a;OG3PGBi.&ۻZqp>IM +~ۮX8.S.(6v~jJV'>>6&K4˾xKܫNܪiuOZ>w-#Fv \lF"y  ~>\)/tƋN>""am|W0Jz) ^+C`.Y8?~̵/&Gބ^ꁑ^pkVV~FXSo$\}|S;>L_1vHFgf&;9ހc0N i7O6a?|PQ` n)\bcX} &WF"ZsĶ6.;NiA,o 5ðqd8)KշC] =k s]A.w$jNJa?cz`(J;H5kJJNG* 2ҧ&؆;դmhKNiqw;oF ͇ai LMtχː0AEDQԼ8y3+D3#iR ^^K)Uw.bʇMwI;[䜢c-uTSӯ%1lkdW1D> i ӹKõt_Ilȃ 5 ٖr(.&s>dF~_r E/Jà,I'ުא July#]Ҿi`PG⤢%]NH*R-I9]vSX`M6d2|^ 'IN{՛iȿ-\MA|΃flLV^6֋a!Ȥճgv+96mr)R:Kեkx(iϬ .Nգj&, TƋt%ՀMwZu!K1˲&&dH>÷)R7-eU!#be3w@mQhnruPl:PŞI` N01pv#+uJ_'մ~# LIBN3iQҫ^ \`yOg@N'.@)۝JQJ,#d3%7 %0vޭKV='#Ȫ.SwGc NdKi@+>UiFER?*Ƶ|5QؽF99^ b8#iB*TH"uglU5r5Pv*xiyU( 52 L /% :U=c&WvWF~$b3RO*C@*=RYĚmuY,-X`#0)'-*~FD/X 0 ג3Ҩda sWX 8Y+9qD)plY4{'ꝷ1-.L a%,}V{P&d6P` dB>q+=\O1Ӳ|u{ԲÜg^+rx>-I?UzZ5QO\%`:Me  7 b}M)#3jeEGu][g<-h1wčwqsTlz s""%ܧ[a[o3y afwݪN{$dqwf!B}ʬz\μ9VvKLBK==Vw}V"<[[9SxXM̶{)eH%d@gy(^ VgR Qa 2 n Nd;Jԟb>!3"9 </!>61%~? eZ4z77ajCbSXeEYN^ձ]RBܹxk@~T»uQ˦7InO8=LY{T~`5yRP<1 7tUqGU AL=+\Ėum>MVz3WY+Adv{*S:#;mmws 6cs&%0"A"2wDX8l?@+EC҄W^('{p8V?F}`{sGG3I~93 ϲ 篐3؜ZiqP@'rPu.}іS& u/LL9.K sQ15kz9vi%Sk6:Vi'V3L)ҫ4 ekc5< P!l c\Pf%bA7kxG'$zyt7DZd.cf(K -ګ0D'ܙ_s}:e ]kZRx4ȹMЅJ)WOkK`G>gT_ 3+YrJN?~=u"oˀv)@ًu?o.i~ ƂpVF"9 ̔= 3veOCFѮ{Yӕur^.Z$@?* u sH.3jE h Q#ɘarZ0h VPrI?$gΦfw)%Ҽ*ZNc\@I)X6՚%ma Cj΢W1B؏=e̢6l]^A\jਖ਼& AyAf\<-%$<˔Fw=!˞x^PҶAi? 8v/pD橰]n&%]|q 5Dո5]QCWl7Rd⃺%3ݟ<&)pnF7>р8mI\Y8l*LV%ul#yTv/0UAڎ5(BdPvQ=͚5,fY} ȩz8f ⸰8x(쓷9CF;GٿV.}t70o,%.-,'D|'J<>Oo9&!ڄM7=WuW`!QC;Yo5z|K͝<υ>a;c4ޭlN*D`に'O,yT193\wD"Ysjػϖ~¡yrJ~}~ $P)t<ѧؒk~͋=#Q}Cg0nAθNw蜁7B`Ft"!U7Dֻy(癬5#ʭNtb,8PFYWVN)lj$7(?7 ^gDp7lR_ GV-{lwe_(Bb.GU!šaD:=pў~.& $+.vtl  mQ6Ù(2~>Ud =ʰT
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1