Summary of Ruth Coker Burks & Kevin Carr O'Learry's All the Young Men

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 In the early spring of 1986, I was at the hospital watching my best friend, Bonnie, who had tongue cancer and had never smoked a day in her life, get her feeding tube removed. She was thirty-one, and I was twenty-six. I was scared for her and her friends, who were all alone in the hospital.

#2 I eventually had to tell Jimmy’s mother that her son was dying, and that he was a homosexual. She hung up on me twice, but the third time was the charm, as she finally came to visit him.

#3 I went back to the hallway with the red door, and before I went back in, I had a little conversation with God. I knew that was Him working through Bonnie telling me I had to go back to Jimmy.

#4 I spent the night with Jimmy, and when he died, I called every funeral home in Arkansas. Every time, the mortuary refused to take him because of his condition. Finally, I called a black mortuary in Pine Bluff, and they agreed to cremate him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 28, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669398271

IRB Media

With IRB books, you can get the key takeaways and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Insights on Ruth Coker Burks & Kevin Carr O'Learry's All the Young Men

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In the early spring of 1986, I was at the hospital watching my best friend, Bonnie, who had tongue cancer and had never smoked a day in her life, get her feeding tube removed. She was thirty-one, and I was twenty-six. I was scared for her and her friends, who were all alone in the hospital.

#2

I eventually had to tell Jimmy’s mother that her son was dying, and that he was a homosexual. She hung up on me twice, but the third time was the charm, as she finally came to visit him.

#3

I went back to the hallway with the red door, and before I went back in, I had a little conversation with God. I knew that was Him working through Bonnie telling me I had to go back to Jimmy.

#4

I spent the night with Jimmy, and when he died, I called every funeral home in Arkansas. Every time, the mortuary refused to take him because of his condition. Finally, I called a black mortuary in Pine Bluff, and they agreed to cremate him.

#5

When I was ten, my grandmother died in an automobile accident and was buried, like all of our kin since the late 1880s, in Files Cemetery. My mother had a big family fight with her brother, my uncle Fred, pretty soon after. She purchased every available plot in Files Cemetery.

#6

I knew I would have to bury Jimmy at night, as I could not afford anything nice for his burial. I went to a friend, Kimbo Dryden, who worked at Dryden Pottery, and he gave me a chipped cookie jar. I poured Jimmy’s ashes in it.

#7

I waited for a full moon to dig Jimmy’s grave. I placed him in the grave, and I prayed for him. I rearranged the pine needles to hide what I’d done, and I looked around as a wind blew through the trees.

#8

I would never want to steal Sandy’s man, because she was the only one who could keep me busy with conversations. I didn’t like my husband, and I didn’t want another man. I was born ugly and would die ugly, so I didn’t think I would get