In his first book, Ross Matthews tells listeners what it means to 'man up'--to realize, no matter how hard you may hope against hope, you are what you are. Admittedly still a work-in-progress, Ross recounts how he's benefited from this frame of mind his whole life. From growing up as an atypical kid in a small Northwestern farm town to living as an atypical adult in Los Angeles, to eventually being his loud, proud, unapologetically genuine self on...

Who says you can't run away from your problems? You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can't say yes--it would be too awkward--and you can't say no--it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world. QUESTION: How do you arrange to skip town? ANSWER: You accept them...

"What do you do when you're too gay for Pakistan, too Pakistani to be gay in America, and you're ashamed of your body everywhere? How can you find happiness despite years of humiliation, physical danger, and a legion of Brooklyn hipsters who know you only as a queer from Whereveristan? How do you summon the courage to be yourself no matter where you are? Even as a young child in Lahore, Komail Aijazuddin knew he was different--no one else at his all-boys...