Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir Review

Author: Brian Broome

Genre:  Memoir

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Released: May 18th, 2021

Purchase: Amazon

4 Stars

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Review:

Punch Me Up to the Gods is a powerful memoir written by Brian Broome.
Brian is a Black gay man who grew up in Ohio and later moved
to Pittsburgh, PA. His story is heartbreaking yet full of hope.
Each chapter is prefaced with vignettes titled "The Initiation of Tuan"
which covers Broome's observations of a Black father and his young son
Tuan on a city bus interacting as the father teaches his son not cry or
whine - how to be a real man. Broome's own story which focuses a
great deal on colorism, sexuality, race, and drug addiction, etc., is
not easy to read. Broome endures a troubled, sometimes violent
relationship with his own father who would threaten to "punch him up
to the Gods". He writes a chapter in his mother's voice to allow her to
tell her own traumatic story. Their family is obviously highly
dysfunctional.

Punch Me Up to the Gods is a powerful, raw, primal story that unfolds through
Broome's lyrical writing. His descriptive passages are visually impressive
and stimulating as are his characters. Growing up as a gay Black man
who was ostracized at school and in everyday life is heartbreaking, but
his journey to find and accept his own identity along with his message
to others is inspiring. A beautifully rendered story highly recommended
to fans of heart touching Memoirs.