NEW REVIEW: Michael Beckford - Dying To Be Straight

Michael  Beckford - 
Dying To Be Straight - 
Available Now! - 
1 out of 5 books - 

Dying to be Straight by Michael D. Beckford is the memoir of sorts of Paul Stringer. The story is a detailed account of his life from the time he was brought into the world. At around the age of five-years old while his mother (the lawyer) and his father (a chemist) worked on their careers, they had family members watch a young Paul. In the care of his father's brother and wife. Paul's uncle touched him in an inappropriate place and had Paul do the same to him. As Paul became older, he became confused about his feelings for the opposite sex. He knew he liked females, but he was more attracted to guys.

More than anything Paul struggled with what he believed God felt about homosexuality and his feelings and attraction to the same sex. Paul battles within himself, wanting to be "normal" and live a heterosexual life, but the pull of his old life soon becomes something he will need to deal with head on. After losing a good friend, he tries to put things into perspective and evaluate his life and some of the decisions he has made. The question is will he be able to make amends with his family and friends before its too late?

Dying to be Straight by Michael D. Beckford has to be one of the worst books I have read thus far. First, I am a bit confused on if this is supposed to be a fictional account or an actual memoir of someone's actual life. The story takes place from the time the character Paul Stringer is born, from his mother and father describing the hospital room that he was born in 1984. Describing how his mother lit a candle and sat it beside her bedside and when he was born they blew it out. (When did the hospital allow patients to light candles in the birthing room?) Second, the story is way too detailed. From a young Paul and his elementary years to his junior high and high school years and beyond. The problem with this is that it is unnecessary to the story, and with the book being only 204 pages, Dying to be Straight lacks depth and emotion. The story is told in first person, at times it is repetitive, and everything is simply stated instead of being descriptive, making the story too cut and dry. Aside from the lack of editing, the wording of some things are enough to make you shake your head. For example: when the author describes one of the characters being pregnant he words it as "...was scheduled to be deployed from his mother's womb." and "...he was expected to officially arrive on earth in August." EARTH? Seriously, is this an alien baby? The author also seems to make up his own words, such as the character Paul practiced "bisexualism." At one point I had to shake my head when the author described the 5th grade Prom where he was fitted for a tuxedo and how everyone was trying to make plans to hook up afterward. Keep in mind we are talking about 5th graders who are 10-11 years old. Seriously? In reading this story, there was entirely too much going on and situations that were totally unbelievable, especially near the end. It's like the author threw things into the mix because he thought he needed to add more, but it was totally unnecessary.

Reviewed by Leona of Urban Reviews

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