From the Speakeasy - I Know What Heaven Looks Like by Lawrence T. Richardson

When I first met LT, I was immediately struck by his gentle and open-hearted demeanor and the kindness in his eyes. His book I Know What Heaven Looks Like is a memoir that helps me understand how hard-won those gifts are for him. Richardson shares stories from his childhood, youth and early adulthood that follow three threads: first, understanding and living out his sexuality and gender identity; second, the struggles and abusive relationships in his family; and third, his relationship with the church and spirituality.

These three threads intertwine, giving the reader a deeper understanding of the complexity of Richardson's journey. For example, from an early age Richardson feels welcome and excited to be a part of his grandmother's congregation, but later as he lives more fully into his sexuality, she warns him that the people in the congregation aren't ready to accept him as he is.  Later, a different congregation and pastor will encourage him to go to seminary and become a minister.  Richardson's openness about his sexuality also leads his grandmother to throw him out of the house, resulting in a season of homelessness nearly undermines his ability to graduate high school. Church, home, sexuality, woven together.

A few thoughts on improvements. The book looks self-published - there are really big spaces between the lines, for example, and I think a good editor could help to sharpen and refine some of the choices in terms of what Richardson shares and doesn't share with us. Sometimes we get a lot of detail about a particular moment that doesn't feel all that significant otherwise, and other times parts of the story that seem pretty important don't get much play. What happens to Rose after she and the baby go into a homeless shelter, for example? And, many conversations read a little more as the things I wish I'd said, rather than capturing the rhythm and cadence of how people actually talk. A few sections feel particularly "educational," rather than faithful to the original conversation.

 All that being said, Richardson's story is inspirational without being neatly tied up at the end. An important family member comes around, Richardson grows into himself with more coherence and finds the strength to confront family members who hurt him when he was younger. For people wondering what it might be like to grow up trans and then become a minister, this book, consistent with LT's own way of being in the world, is an open-hearted sharing of one man's difficult journey toward wholeness and learning to live out God's call on his life.

Note: I got a free copy of this book from The Speakeasy blogging book review network in exchange for writing a review of it. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I've expressed are my own. This note is a disclosure in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255. For more info, here's the website: http://thespeakeasy.info Whew!