It’s astonishing how good How We Fight For Our Lives is. Though the title implies a polemic, Saeed Jones’s latest book is oh, so much more than that. It is a lyrical memoir: an important book that will be read–and re-read–for many years to come. Mr. Jones combines a reporter’s eye for detail with a poet’s transcendental sense. The result is a book that should be read slowly–taking the time to savor each individual paragraph. Mr. Jones is, indeed, an expert paragraph-craftsman; his paragraphs often read like brilliant prose poems. And what’s more: How We Fight For Our Lives is constructed like a good novel. It’s a genuine page-turner.
Queer Reader is reluctant to reveal too much of the plot of this surprisingly intricate memoir. Suffice it to say that whatever he is writing about, Mr. Jones infuses his prose with a lyricism that gives it universal resonance. The most tender prose he reserves for his mother: an entirely sympathetic character–a cigarette-smoking Buddhist who somehow manages to bridge the gap between the author and his shockingly hateful Evangelical Christian grandmother. Like all great memoirs, Mr. Jones’s journey is a serendipitous one. And, as such, it is a memoir of unexpected pleasures–such as the author’s uncle’s warmly understated response to his coming out. It is an odyssey through locations familiar and not-so familiar. For this Queer Reader, the most exotic of these is a place called Lewisville, Texas, which the author describes succinctly and poetically:
All these years later, Lewisville remained a great suburb for driving through. It didn’t have much, but it did have that. There were fields guarded by sunflowers so tall their petals tapped my forehead whenever I stood in front of them. Bluebonnets, the state flower, dotted the meadows further away from the road, along with Indian paintbrushes, which looked like the stray feathers of some mythic blooded bird. Racing by in Mom’s Ford Escort, AC blasting, the radio on full volume, I scream out the lyrics of pop songs I was only brave enough to sing when I was alone.
How We Fight For Our Lives is the story of the coming of age of an enormously talented African-American gay man in troubled times. It is the story of the struggle for inter-generational acceptance. The story includes heart-breaking disappointments, literary triumphs and frank descriptions of sex. But ultimately How We Fight For Our Lives is the story of the struggle for self-acceptance.
How We Fight For Our Lives is 190 pages long: a smooth read. But don’t rush it. Savor your first read of this important book. It won’t be your last.
How We Fight For Our Lives is published by Simon and Schuster.
1/5/2020
UPDATE 4/30/2020: Today it was announced that How We Fight for Our Lives won The Publishing Triangle’s Randy Shilts Award for Gay Non-fiction.