A review by melissagopp
Mother, Nature: A 5,000-Mile Journey to Discover if a Mother and Son Can Survive Their Differences by Jedidiah Jenkins

adventurous challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

Themes of travel, nature, and sexual identity drew me to this memoir by Jedidiah Jenkins. Especially intriguing was the book’s central question: Do we have to cut our loved ones off when they disagree with something utterly foundational to our values and existence? 

Jenkins was raised by an evangelical Christian mom who walked across America with his father and went on to write a bestselling series about the adventure. In Mother, Nature, mother and son set off on a road trip, retracing her steps and reminiscing about the past. As a gay man, Jenkins hopes that in addition to bonding with his mom, he’ll find out whether or not she would attend his wedding to a man, if and when that day comes. 

 

Despite her backwards beliefs about sexuality, Jenkins’ mom comes alive on the page and is quite likable. I found myself alternately judging her as ignorant, then innocent, stubborn, and even sage in her simplicity. Still, it’s hard to overlook her unwillingness to budge on a matter so fundamental to her son’s identity. I would have thought, as Jenkins hopes, that her “concept of ‘homosexuality’ would be crushed by the specificity of a human she cares about.” 

I admire Jenkins’ bravery in confronting his mom and staying in relationship through the awkwardness of her answer to his big question. His ability to hold multiple truths at once is something most of us could stand to do more often in this time of exaggerated binaries and divisiveness. As a whole, this memoir is a great reminder that there is no one or right way to come out and be out. Each person’s journey is incredibly personal and continuously evolving. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.