My Trip Down the Pink Carpet

I have had the pleasure to meet Leslie and see him live. The laughs have always come quite easily from Leslie and I certainly expected some when I bought this book. As I was riding the bus into work this morning I was sure that everyone else thought I was crazy because I would just burst out laughing. I could hardly contain myself. Thank you Leslie - what a perfect way to start my day.

I met Mr. Jordan several years ago when he was in town performing his one man show, Like a Dog on Linoleum. I was coming down the street and noticed his small frame immediately as 'Beverly Leslie' from Will & Grace, among other appearances. I walked up to him, absolutely thrilled to see him right there in the flesh. I hadn't got but a few words out when he hugged me like an old friend...not too difficult to do, since I'm honestly not much taller than him myself. I've been a fan ever since and have eagerly looked forward to reading this book. No long analysis here, folks, suffice to see that this delightful little read is like a drink of cool water on a hot day! Thoughtful, funny and totally capitivating, I found myself laughing out on the bus on my way to work as I read this! I can say my only criticism of the book is that is wasn't longer, as I was left very pleased with my read, but greedily wanting more. Well done, Leslie, well done!

Jordan, Leslie. "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet", Simon and Schuster, 2008. Not a Sordid Life at All Amos Lassen With thunderstorm warnings in Little Rock today and the thought of summer school starting tomorrow, I was sitting here feeling quite down. Then I noticed a package I had not opened and in it was Leslie Jordan's "My Trip Down the Pink Carpet" and it was just what I needed to lift my spirits. Most of us know who Leslie Jordan is but I am not sure all of us know "Brother Boy's" real name. Now that we have established who he is let's get a look at him physically. He is small but he can steal a scene from the best of them. How many of us cannot forget his entrance to his mother's funeral in "Sordid Lives" or his guest appearances on "Will and Grace". "Murphy Brown" and "Ally McBeal" or the night he won the Emmy for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Jordan was raised in the South in a conservative family in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He went to Hollywood and his life changed forever. And he tells it all to us. His life is like the man, jumpy and inconsistent. He shows us his Southern Baptist upbringing and how it affected him and he deals with his homosexuality with some very funny stories (I am sure that he has more stories that did not make it into the book). He fought the demons that preached against homosexuality and he fought his own sexual bent. He lapsed into drugs and alcohol and still managed to keep his career on track. Memoirs are quite difficult to write because the author has difficulty being subjective about himself. We have seen memoirs in which the author's conceit or self-hatred seem to show on every page. Jordan manages to avoid both traps and he comes across as very real, very honest and sincere Jordan also does not hold back mentioning names. The divas like Faye Dunaway, Tammy Faye Baker and Beverly D'Angelo are here as are the men he has had crushes on or acted with, Boy George, George Clooney, Luke Perry, Dean Cain and Robert Downey, Jr. He takes us on a journey from Tennessee, through the AIDS epidemic, to the 90's and "Sordid Lives" to the present and he keeps us laughing. I, personally, loved the chapter, "The Tears of the Israelites" and how he explains how he learned that the word "Jew" was not a verb and how his he relates Del Shores' story of a Jewish woman in Texas was asked by a friend to participate in a local church's "Pack the pew with a Jew". Jordan certainly had a lot to tell us and he did not tell all. This is my one complaint. When I closed the book, I wanted more. It's a quick read and one that will keep you laughing for quite a long time.

"It is a terrible feeling when you cannot find your way home," Jordan writes, describing a night out clubbing as a very young man in Atlanta. The sentiment is also a metaphor for Leslie's life, as well as for many of the rest of us. Finding your way home takes years of wondering, searching and facing disappointments. What I love most about this book is that Leslie Jordan has found his way home, and his famiiy of fans are here for him. The book ends with hope and help. Like Leslie, I'm a gay Southerner. "They circled the wagons, as only true Southern [I'd add and Jewish] women can do, and created a secret garden where it was okay for little boys to play with dools." They knew, they loved us, and they wanted in their own best way to protect us. God bless our Southern Mamas! Memoirs are tricky because how does one write about oneself subjectively? Usually too self-praising, or the other extreme self-deprecating. Leslie gets that tone just right. "I would never be the kind of actor who could disappear into the roles he or she played. And quite frankly, I have never been asked to play a character I felt was more interesting than me in real life." And how true! "I've decided almost all gay men my age have what I call 'Marilyn Monroe syndrome.' We love to fall apart. We love to take pills and cry and carry on. We love self-recreated drama." This book is funny, well-written (and well-edited) concise and a short-read. Enjoy it laugh and take away the few important lessons at that end. Rich Merritt, author ofSecrets Of A Gay Marine Porn Star and Code of Conduct