MyFictionNook

Sandra @ My Fiction Nook

I like romance and boys loving boys in my books. 

You can also find me on my main blog

 

 




1408 Devotees
112 Devoted To
3447 BOOKS


Currently reading

Secrets and Charms
Lou Harper
Progress: 100%
The Luckiest (Lucky Moon Book 2)
M.J. O'Shea, M.J. O'Shea
Progress: 100%
My Favorite Uncle
Marshall Thornton
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The River Leith
Leta Blake
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Book Review: I probably shouldn't have done that by Edmond Manning

I Probably Shouldn't Have Done That - Edmond Manning

 

 

Dear Edmond Manning,

 

I love your writing. I love it so much more after reading this amazing book. I was both moved to giggles and to tears during the course of your book, and I cannot thank you enough for writing it.

 

You tell your stories with such enthusiasm, with so much heart and with so much thoughtfulness. Frequently, I was snickering at your snarky humor only to be hit by something very profound that crept up on me without notice until it was too late. With every story, every anecdote, a clearer picture emerged of the person behind the words. Someone I'd be proud to call my friend, someone who thinks the world of his own friends, someone who is a great friend, a wonderful son. 

 

 

When Edmond announced on Facebook that he had just published a non-fiction, sort of biography, I clicked that link without hesitation and bought a copy.

 

Excellent life choice! 

 

For anyone reading this review, I would like you to stop and hop on over to your favorite bookseller to purchase this book. There are lessons to be learned from what Edmond probably shouldn't have done. Don't be alarmed by the image on the cover - that story isn't told in the book. There was no hugging a bear cub and no angry bear mama tearing him to pieces. Though I can see how Edmond might have done that. 

 

What did happen though is a story about Edmond spending a day as a homeless person in NYC. And talking about that experience, seeing the passers-by hurrying to their jobs and still taking the time to find goodness in their hearts. That story gave me renewed faith in humanity, especially when I found out that one woman gave up her homemade sandwich to who she believed to be in greater need.

 

"She made it with processed cheese, the cheap kind that remains imprinted with its individual plastic wrap. The meat was thinly sliced, a hybrid of ham and pastrami, one of those sandwich meats rather difficult to name. Ambiguous flavor. Wheat bread. Mayonnaise. It wasn't fully cut in half. The bottom bread was barely perforated. A half-assed job done by someone in a hurry. I know. I've made sandwiches like that. Obviously, she made it for herself, but when she encountered someone who she felt needed it more, she did not hesitate. She gifted it to me and disappeared into the crowd of busy professionals."

 

 

What happened is a story about Edmond sitting in his friend's backyard, drinking beer and talking about monsters. What happened is a story about Edmond writing wonderful letters to his Mom and Dad, and the assumption his proclivity to decorate the envelopes and packages caused. What happened is a story about teaching a class of cops and encountering a raging case of homophobia. 

 

The story about his father and what was said shortly before he passed made me tear up. There was so much love between the lines that it felt almost like an intrusion on my end to read those words. 

 

And then in the next breath, you read about a snorkeling trip with his friend Ann, and you're giggling again but also struck by the lesson to be learned.

 

You see him weed dandelions from a back yard as part of a charity project he participates in, and you see that he is kind and good-hearted and realizes that children need encouragement, not chastising. 

 

You see him deal with homophobia, the one on the outside flung at him, and the one he internalized and flings at himself. You see him be courageous and you see him scared. 

 

Edmond Manning lets you see into his life, into what shaped him, into what made him the person he is today. There is no greater gift than to open yourself up to your fellow man and let them see that you're just as flawed and incomplete as they are. 

 

Sure, he keeps some things very private, as they should be, but I didn't expect him to do any different. Still, each story, be it funny or thought-provoking, is a lesson Edmond learned and one we can all benefit from. 

 

I enjoyed this book tremendously. I'm so very humbled that he agreed to be our blog's first ever Author of the Month in 2014. And I look forward to many more amazing stories from him.

 

You can buy his book here

 

 

 

I purchased this book for myself, with my own money. The above is my opinion, and mine alone.