In Did You Ever See A Horse Go By? A Coming Out Memoir, new author Frank DeFrancesco invites the reader into his personal tug-of-war and ultimate triumph over the psychological and sociological restraints that immobilized him for half a lifetime.
The author uses biographical events, old letters. unpolished poetry, and excerpts from his journals along with a few fictional composites to recreate memories and moods.
DeFrancesco pokes fun at his own naiveté, self-doubts, and Catholic guilt, as well as clueless therapists, Rome adventures, Woodstock, discos, and dead Bob to weave a compelling story that balances seriousness and sadness with humor and joy.
"While I'm not sure the world really needs another coming out story,” DeFrancesco says, “I feel deeply the need to tell it.
REVIEWS:
Format:Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase
This memoir is special. I've known Frank for twenty five years. During that time, I've known him as a compassionate activist who has worked on issues including HIV/AIDS and LGBTQI awareness and support. This very personal memoir helped me to understand the challenges that Frank faced from his family, his religion and society. To not be able to freely express who you are and who you love, deeply affects the way you live your life.
I encourage you to read this book at this amazing point in history where marriage to the person you love is becoming accepted yet homophobia still abounds. In a gentle way, Frank helps us to understand the importance of a society which nurtures youth as they realize that their sexual orientation is what it is. Gay or straight or bisexual, we need to love and accept each other.
I especially urge you to read the epilogue which is a powerful statement on its own. I've known Frank for a quarter of a century and have seen his impact as a comfortably out gay man. His book tells the story of his untapped potential during those years of struggling to hide from himself and others who he truly was. I think it is crucial for those of us who haven't lived in fear of others discovering who we are, to read the stories of those who have. This book is important.
Format:Paperback|Verified Purchase
Did You Ever See a Horse Go By? by Frank DeFrancesco, a well-written, thoughtful, and challenging contribution to gay memoir, is quite obviously the product of a lifetime's joys, sorrows, certainties, and doubts. Bravo on a job well done.
Format:Paperback
"Did you Ever See a Horse Go By" is not only a coming out story, it is one of the most provocative yet sincere coming of age stories I have read in recent memory. It might be just a bit of an exaggeration to put it in the same category as such coming of age novels as James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", Hermann Hesse's "Demian", Kerouac's "On the Road" or even "The First Third" by Neal Cassady himself and although most of these novels deal with some of the same issues as Frank's book such as Catholicism, guilt, sex (straight, homosexual or bi), drugs, spiritualism, promiscuity, music, travel, adventure, friendships, alcohol, lovers, casual sex, masturbation, casual acquaintances and death, this book is nothing like any of those I mentioned. In fact, it is nothing like any other book I have ever read, not just because it is the only coming out story I have ever read, but mostly because it is genuinely told from the heart with a sincere, unrelenting, unafraid, bold passion, leaving no stone unturned, no tear unshed and no apology.
