The Lonely Veteran's Guide to Companionship (Living Out: Gay and Lesbian Autobiog)

By: Bronson Lemer

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Synopsis: In this collection of interrelated essays, Bronson Lemer explores companionship through the lens of a queer veteran, focusing on the difficulty of forming true connections with others, including a “battle buddy” during basic training, the people he meets while teaching in China, and the spirit of a long-dead older sister. Lemer uses lessons from popular culture and literature—the globe-trotting exploits of fictional criminal Carmen Sandiego, the sexual exploration in Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room, the expatriate longing in Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, just to name a few—as a means to think more broadly about the role of the outsider and how we navigate aimlessness while searching for stability and meaning. Lemer’s distinct take on the veteran’s story boldly engages the intersection of military narratives and queer culture, including examinations into the role of thirst traps in contemporary dating culture, the fears of long-term health damage caused by military service, and the ways in which intimate relationships can lead to a loss of self. Taken together, his essays illustrate how one queer veteran managed to carve out a path that led him, however awkwardly at times, closer to the person he wanted to be.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9780299350741
Related ISBNs:: 9780299350789
Publisher:: University of Wisconsin Press
Date of Addition:: 04/19/25
Copyrighted By:: Bronson Lemer
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: History, Military, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs, Social Studies
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.