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1.04k reviews for:
Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons
John Paul Brammer
4.06 AVERAGE
1.04k reviews for:
Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons
John Paul Brammer
4.06 AVERAGE
4.5/5
I picked this up because I thought it would be light and funny, and while it was funny, it was more introspective than I anticipated (shame on me tbh). I loved this book, and I'm so glad I read it.
... And now I'm going to follow the author on Twitter
I picked this up because I thought it would be light and funny, and while it was funny, it was more introspective than I anticipated (shame on me tbh). I loved this book, and I'm so glad I read it.
... And now I'm going to follow the author on Twitter
emotional
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
I was also surprised by this one! I'm not usually a memoir person, especially not ones that are billed as super funny, but this had a lot more depth and emotionality than I was expecting. It was both funny and poignant, and I really appreciated the complexities of queerness the author untangled, it felt like nuance I don't always see when people are talking about queerness.
JP Brammer is one of my favorite people on Twitter. He is also a talented artist (I get a print from his shop for Christmas every year hehe), and he runs ¡Hola Papi!, which started out as a parody advice column (“what if ‘Dear Abby’ was a gay Mexican man on Grindr?”), but quickly pivoted to seriousness as it exploded in popularity and demand; this book collects questions from advice-seekers such as, ‘how do I let go of the past?’, ‘how do I let go of a relationship that never was?’, and, ‘how do I let myself enjoy things?’. Brammer devotes an applaudable self-awareness and sensitivity to all of these questions and doesn’t gatekeep any of his knowledge in what I believe is a sincere and genuine desire to help others find comfort and security in themselves, too.
Brammer’s advice is uniquely and exclusively informed by his journey to self-discovery and acceptance; growing up queer and mixed-race in the Midwest without many people to relate to and struggling with his identity led him to endure alienation and pain that he is very straightforward about. Even if you can’t relate to every situation, you’ll appreciate the realness and feel the intention behind each answer. Chapter titles like, ‘How to Chat With Your Childhood Bully Over a Gay Dating App’ will certainly keep you turning pages while you nod in agreement and chuckle at Brammer’s effortless humor. I finished this book with a beaming admiration for its author and the work he’s clearly put in to get to this point of self-confidence as well as his mastery of candor and relatability without coming off as an oversharer, something I struggle less with in my 30s but still remain super self-conscious of and maybe always will. Whether you read this or listen to the audiobook, which is narrated by Brammer himself, I hope you will spend some quality time with it and find it as worth it as I did. <3
Brammer’s advice is uniquely and exclusively informed by his journey to self-discovery and acceptance; growing up queer and mixed-race in the Midwest without many people to relate to and struggling with his identity led him to endure alienation and pain that he is very straightforward about. Even if you can’t relate to every situation, you’ll appreciate the realness and feel the intention behind each answer. Chapter titles like, ‘How to Chat With Your Childhood Bully Over a Gay Dating App’ will certainly keep you turning pages while you nod in agreement and chuckle at Brammer’s effortless humor. I finished this book with a beaming admiration for its author and the work he’s clearly put in to get to this point of self-confidence as well as his mastery of candor and relatability without coming off as an oversharer, something I struggle less with in my 30s but still remain super self-conscious of and maybe always will. Whether you read this or listen to the audiobook, which is narrated by Brammer himself, I hope you will spend some quality time with it and find it as worth it as I did. <3
Ay Papi. Brammer is being called the "Chicano Carrie Bradshaw" of the queer community - and for good reason. His honesty, wit, and forthcoming attitude welcome you into his life like that high school friend you haven't seen in a decade who smells like coffee and nostalgia. His experiences growing up in small town America as an awkward, ambitious, gay Mexican are equal parts relatable and heartbreaking. This memoir follows everything from racial tensions, suicidal thoughts, and bullying, to queer stereotypes, Latino insecurities, and familial responsibility. I loved the format of the writing (each chapter answers a question posed to Brammer's advice column) and how it oscillates between funny anecdotes and wise observations. Through this Sex In The City sensibility, Brammer challenges ideas of identity, multi-cultural and multi-racial upbringings, and the queer coming-of-age with ease and hilarity.
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This book made me cry, made me laugh, made me nod along in recognition. If you're looking for some hope, this is the book for you!
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This book made me cry, made me laugh, made me nod along in recognition. If you're looking for some hope, this is the book for you!
I first heard about Hola Papi from a list of LGBTQIA memoirs sent to me by a close friend, and I was so excited when I saw it was available on Scribd right away!
Hola Papi is a collection of essays about Brammer’s own life and coming out, written partly in response to questions he received to his advice column, Hola Papi. One reader asked about how to move past regrets of not coming out sooner, and Brammer wrote about his first girlfriend, a relationship he cherishes rather than regrets even though he was and is only romantically interested in men, and despite how the relationship fell apart. In another, he’s asked how to “forgive and forget” and writes about his own experience with a childhood bully who turned out to be gay himself. In others, he writes about learned how to relate to and embrace his Mexican culture, about coming out to his boyfriend, and about moving on from past relationships. In every essay, Brammer manages to tie his own experiences to the questions he was asked, offering advice backed by personal experience.
I loved this collection, and breezed through it on audiobook within a couple of days.
Hola Papi is a collection of essays about Brammer’s own life and coming out, written partly in response to questions he received to his advice column, Hola Papi. One reader asked about how to move past regrets of not coming out sooner, and Brammer wrote about his first girlfriend, a relationship he cherishes rather than regrets even though he was and is only romantically interested in men, and despite how the relationship fell apart. In another, he’s asked how to “forgive and forget” and writes about his own experience with a childhood bully who turned out to be gay himself. In others, he writes about learned how to relate to and embrace his Mexican culture, about coming out to his boyfriend, and about moving on from past relationships. In every essay, Brammer manages to tie his own experiences to the questions he was asked, offering advice backed by personal experience.
I loved this collection, and breezed through it on audiobook within a couple of days.
I’m not a big memoir reader; mostly because I’ve imagined them an attempt to normalize life experiences most of us can’t relate to. But the openness and candor of this memoir makes it feel more like a therapy session (over a sting drink or twelve) with your friend.
Written as a series of essays formatted as advice columns the writer takes things we think we feel we can’t talk about openly; childhood trauma, random sexual encounters, shitty dating experiences, thoughts of self-harm, finding pleasure in the downfall of rivals, finding horror in seeing yourself as you fear the world sees you; and makes them sound as normal as your morning coffee because they are. It doesn’t disappoint and at times is an absolute delight.
I don’t imagine there are any of us who haven’t trekked back to our home town looking for the rabbit in the pebbled wall or drove by the plum door and reflected on love lost in the same or similar ways John Paul has. All of that makes this book feel lived in and real.
In all fairness the last few essays fell flat for me. But they are buoyed by the rest of this great collection.
Written as a series of essays formatted as advice columns the writer takes things we think we feel we can’t talk about openly; childhood trauma, random sexual encounters, shitty dating experiences, thoughts of self-harm, finding pleasure in the downfall of rivals, finding horror in seeing yourself as you fear the world sees you; and makes them sound as normal as your morning coffee because they are. It doesn’t disappoint and at times is an absolute delight.
I don’t imagine there are any of us who haven’t trekked back to our home town looking for the rabbit in the pebbled wall or drove by the plum door and reflected on love lost in the same or similar ways John Paul has. All of that makes this book feel lived in and real.
In all fairness the last few essays fell flat for me. But they are buoyed by the rest of this great collection.
“Maybe authority isn’t real. Maybe it’s just another story. And so I hope, Reader, that if nothing else, even if I can’t help you, you look at your own life—the traumatic events, the men who broke your heart, the people you lived and the people you lost—and find a way, even if it’s a small way, to remind yourself that you are an author.”
This book is a perfect example of another reason why I’m so happy I’ve been getting more into nonfiction lately.
It’s funny, wise, profound, deeply personal, yet so relatable. I loved almost every bit of it.
I’m thankful to have read this.
This book is a perfect example of another reason why I’m so happy I’ve been getting more into nonfiction lately.
It’s funny, wise, profound, deeply personal, yet so relatable. I loved almost every bit of it.
I’m thankful to have read this.