Title of
Book: One Gay American
Author: Dennis
Milam Bensie
Author
Website: http://dennismilambensie.com
Publisher: CoffeeTown
Press
ISBN-10:
1603811532
ISBN-13:
978-1603811538
Price $13.95
Publication
Date: September 2012
Genre of
Book: Memoir
About
the Book: Dennis Milam Bensie is
One Gay American. Born in the 1960s and raised with traditional values
in Robinson, Illinois, Bensie desperately wanted romance, a beautiful wedding,
and a baby to carry on the family name. He denied his sexuality and married a
woman at nineteen years old, but fantasized of weddings where he could be
the bride. The newlyweds "adopted" a Cabbage Patch Doll and
ironically witnessed a Cabbage Patch Doll wedding (a successful fundraiser
staged by a local women's club) where the dolls were granted the type of grand
ceremony off-limits to gay couples.
In search of
his identity as a gay man, Bensie divorced his wife and stumbled through
missteps and lessons that still sting his generation: defending against
bullies, "disappointing" his parents, and looking for love in gay
bars, bath houses and restrooms. He helped his straight friends plan their
dream weddings and mourned his gay friends dying of AIDS.
Although
true love has not yet come his way, Bensie has learned to love himself. Bensie
is the author of the much-lauded memoir, Shorn: Toys to Men, which
recounts his battle with paraphilia. One Gay American tells the rest of
his story and draws parallels to gay history, decade by decade, with newspaper
headlines and quotations. Bensie is the gay neighbor that you either love or
hate. Either way, he's got a lot to say and says it with no apologies.
BOOK
TRAILER:
Overall
Thoughts:
I love
reading memoirs as they are the raw truth (or perspective) in one’s life. It
gives me pause about how I look at my own life and my world around me. Sometimes
I am given hope and then there are the few occasions I am saddened by our
world, but no matter, what I have a new outlook and my eyes are opened just a
bit more.
Dennis Milam
Bensie is one of those authors who not only brought back many of my own
childhood memories but also gave me a new insight to the world I grew up in. I (only
being about ten years younger) remember many of the same things happening in
the media and politics of my youth. I didn’t really focus on them as much as I
am not gay, but I do remember the effects it had on some of my friends who were
gay.
One Gay American is not only a memoir
about a man growing up, discovering who he is in the world and wanting the
American Dream. It is also about a country trying to understand, grow and change
to a new population it tried to hide and pass shame on for many years. It is
about a population here in America who will no longer stay a slight voice among
their peers and will continue to fight for their civil rights to be recognized by
all. “I’m gay! I’m queer! We are here!” is a shout I still remember ringing out
from Hollywood Blvd as I sat in my office at Frederick’s of Hollywood during
one of the Gay Right Parades in the 1990’s. No matter if you agree or disagree
with this lifestyle, Gay Americans are people with rights and I commend Dennis
for sharing his struggles and joys as One Gay American in this heartfelt memoir.
About the Author:
Dennis Milam Bensie grew up in Robinson, Illinois where his
interest in the arts began in high school participating in various community
theatre productions. Bensie’s first book, Shorn: Toys to Men was
nominated for the Stonewall Book Award, sponsored by the American Library
Association. It was also a pick in the International gay magazine The
Advocate as “One of the Best Overlooked Books of 2011″. The author’s short
stories have been published by Bay Laurel, Everyday
Fiction, and This Zine Will Change Your Lifeand he has also been a feature
contributor for The Good Men Project. One Gay American is his second
book with Coffeetown Press and it was chosen as a finalist in the Next
Generation Indie Book Awards and the Indie Excellence Book Awards. He was a
presenter at the 2013 Saints and Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans.
Dennis lives in Seattle with his three dogs.
You can find out more about Dennis
Milam Bensie, his memoirs and World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/lhtvxyt
To learn
more about the World of Ink Tours visit http://worldofinknetwork.com