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Chely Wright'sLike Me: Confessions Of A Heartland Country Singer [Hardcover](2010) (2010)

by Chely Wright(Favorite Author)

3.96 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Pantheon

review 1: The book starts out detailing Chely Wright's low point in life; alone and teetering on the edge of a breakdown, she contemplates suicide. But, thankfully, she doesn't do it. Instead, she decides to come out of the closet, in spite of the potential consequences to her career, not only to her family and friends, but to the world.While a typical memoir in many regards - Ms. Wright details her childhood, which wasn't idyllic, as well as her rise to stardom and her involvement in USO shows for the troops stationed overseas - she also talks about gay rights, why being gay isn't a choice (I honestly do not know HOW anyone could argue with a straight face that being gay is a choice nowadays), and how being closeted might have made her career happen but she lost a lot, and hurt man... morey people, along the way.Sometimes the book seems disjointed and out of order - there's an anecdote about how her parents treated her sister Jeny, calling her fat and tying her up to the back of a car to make her run, that feels out of place (and horrifying!) - but, altogether, the memoir is a great read. It shows how keeping secrets about your sexual identity harms both you and those around you. There are times when the book made me cry, because I could so relate to what Ms. Wright had experienced. I'm obviously not a country star, and I don't live my life in any sort of limelight, but I understand how she struggled with keeping her secret quiet from her family in fear of how they would react (I still haven't told anyone in my family, and likely never will), and how sometimes those who are most vocal about homosexuality being a sin are struggling with their own gayness (sigh...been there, done that). And to keep going through the tired tracks of convincing yourself that you're not REALLY gay, that it's just a phase, or just this person, or whatever. It's hard and sad and depressing. I recommend this book; you don't have to be interested in country music to enjoy it.
review 2: Chely has written a very brave account of her coming out and coming to terms with being gay. It documents the struggles many gay people can go through; lots of pain and keeping part of their life a secret. Personally, I related a huge amount to Chelys thoughts and feelings about coming out and I appreciated how honest she was. The book is colloquially written and covers everything from her relationship with her family, her evolution from small town girl to country music star, being gay and her experiences with the military. Chely does tend to jump from one section of her life to another as it is a memoir based book. It's a touching read if you are interested in Chelys personal experience with self-acceptance and her music career. Like many, I knew nothing about Chely before reading this and now I would consider myself a fan. I think it's brilliant that another femme lesbian has come out of her closet and I wish her all the best. less

Download links for: Chely Wright'sLike Me: Confessions of a Heartland Country Singer [Hardcover](2010)

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