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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
Funny, thoughtful memoir. It actually made me cry at one point.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Some really heartwarming stories but I felt like it delivered some really hard hitting experiences and then fell flat. I understand the advice column perspective but feel like it did an injustice and would have preferred it to go in order of life events.
I'd first heard about this book from following John Paul Brammer on Twitter, and was glad to finally read it.
I don't typically listen to audiobooks, but I tried with this one since JP narrates it. I think I was expecting more funny stories vs upsetting childhood stories of bullying (which is an oversimplification, for sure, but that was certainly a big theme). I still enjoyed it, I think I just went into it with a very different idea of what it would be, which made it a little hard for me to get into.
I don't typically listen to audiobooks, but I tried with this one since JP narrates it. I think I was expecting more funny stories vs upsetting childhood stories of bullying (which is an oversimplification, for sure, but that was certainly a big theme). I still enjoyed it, I think I just went into it with a very different idea of what it would be, which made it a little hard for me to get into.
generous, warm, and open to ambivalence; a memoir that makes welcoming others into your own moments of introspection look easy (and i'm sure it isn't)
i LOVED this book!!! john paul brammer feels like a familiar friend in all the ways you want an advice columnist to, but a friend who speaks with a beautiful eloquence and honesty about everything from love and queerness to selfhood and identity to fashion and capitalism and forgiveness and then some. super fast read - you'll be enjoying it too much to put down!!!
"It's more important to interrogate the gaze with which you behold yourself. Whose gaze is it, and what is it looking for...What might it be like to have a lens that is more your own?"
"Years and years denying myself the things I'd wanted, and for what?"
"To realize happiness wasn't just a possibility, but the natural thing to do, was revolutionary. How could it not be?"
"Are you aware it's a narrative at all, one with a beginning, middle, and end that you wrote yourself?"
"It's more important to interrogate the gaze with which you behold yourself. Whose gaze is it, and what is it looking for...What might it be like to have a lens that is more your own?"
"Years and years denying myself the things I'd wanted, and for what?"
"To realize happiness wasn't just a possibility, but the natural thing to do, was revolutionary. How could it not be?"
"Are you aware it's a narrative at all, one with a beginning, middle, and end that you wrote yourself?"
I really enjoyed Brammer’s collection of essays-they were poignant, insightful, and offered reflections on life that everyone needs to hear. He was able to bring his readers, particularly the one seeking advice, along for a contemplation of his memories to seek guidance for the future: how do I become more confident in my identity? Something bad happened to me-can I be mad about it years later?
My only wish was that the essays had a more chronological flow to them/direction but it wasn’t necessary. I also suggest readers read this over an extended period of time so they can digest each essay rather than binge reading/listening as I did.
My only wish was that the essays had a more chronological flow to them/direction but it wasn’t necessary. I also suggest readers read this over an extended period of time so they can digest each essay rather than binge reading/listening as I did.
I would have never in a million years guessed that the last essay would be about one of my favorite musicals
equal parts heart warming and heart wrenching
I’ve followed the ¡Hola Papi! column so I was excited to finally read the book; and when I did, I struggled to put it down. John Paul Brammer writes and articulates so many themes in a way I never thought I’d read about on this scale – Mexican-American identity, queerness, mental health. It’s difficult to put into words how much I loved this book, but I will say I’m very thankful for JPB and his tender, thoughtful, and compelling work.
Ni de aquí, ni de allá. Pero quizás en algún lugar entremedio estas palabras.
Ni de aquí, ni de allá. Pero quizás en algún lugar entremedio estas palabras.