The Tricky Part: A boy's story of sexual trespass, a man's journey to forgiveness

An unpleasant topic written about beautifully. I completely understood his struggle to accept it as a molestation and not something that he was able to give consent for. He was too young to have consent to give. I think that is one of the most intriguing parts of the book. His coming to understand that this was really a big deal and not insignificant and may have affected his self esteem and life overall was inspiring. I didn't pick this book up for a while after I received it. I thought it might be painful or maybe too ugly and upsetting to read about. Truth is, it was not a hard book to read. A coming to acceptance story that any adult who was raped as a child should read.

"The Tricky Part" is a very well written true story of a man's coming to terms with sexual abuse that happened between the ages of 12 and 15.

This memoir is very well written, at times heartbreaking, and at times highly humorous, as Martin navigates his life from Catholic childhood to adulthood as a gay man, and dealing with the deep effects that the abuse from a trusted camp counsellor had on him. Throughout his life, he kept telling himself he was fine, as tensions and feelings bubbled beneath the surface.

When he has a breakthrough and finally visits his abuser, Martin is able to come to terms with it all and finally move forward with his beloved partner and keep his past in the past.

I was deeply affected by his writings, and his show more brutal honesty in describing not only the circumstances of his abuse, but the pain, guilt and suffering he endured simply because, as a child, he was too young to be able to protest, and to understand sexual manipulation.

This was a well written, engrossing book that I have won from the Early Reviewers Group of Library Thing. show less

Martin Moran writes of his 3 year sexual abuse from a camp counselor beginning when he was only 12 years old. This memoir is his attempt to understand why he felt guilty at what happened to him, and to learn that the real blame was with Bob, the camp counselor who took advantage of a young, needy, unformed boy. Moran's homosexuality makes it especially hard for him to believe the early traumatic events were the cause of his difficulties as an adult, but through counseling and finally confronting Bob, he begins to understand how his childhood has shaped his life.

A brave, beautifully written, moving book. I was partway through All the Rage when I decided I wanted to know more about what happened to Moran. It's true, what one reviewer wrote, that in this book it seemed he had not figured out all his feelings about what Bob had done. He probably still hasn't. Very sad, what adults can do to children.

I will admit that it took me awhile to get through this book. This had everything to do with the difficult subject and nothing to do with the writing or story. In fact, both of these were quite good. However, I found it all too possible to understand the perspective of Mr. Moran; he is damaged by the sexual relationship that he had as a young boy and feels guilty because the sex was enjoyable. A sure lesson that even things that feel good can be incredibly bad for you. A touching coming to terms.

Many of us had something happen in our youth which profoundly affected who we are. But Martin Moran's sexual abuse is one of the worst scenarios to happen to a child. He details what happened to him at age 12 by a church camp counselor and the book follows through his life into adulthood and the effect the abuse had on him. It is a horrible thing to read about what he went through. He writes about his feelings so clearly, the reader has a good understanding of what a youth in his situation went through. Why they might not want to tell or why they take so long to tell. But there is no denying they were wrongly abused. It is an eye opening book about sexual abuse...to anyone and by anyone. Also, about how a person needs to not blame show more him/herself about what happened in their youth that they had no conscious control over. show less

Martin Moran has written a very beautiful and raw account of his life through this book. It was so heartbreaking, but also full of restoration and grace. Martin has demonstrated through his personal story just how freeing grace and forgiveness can be. It places so many of our trials into perspective and provides hope that time can truly heal. This life account proves that while life may be no fairy tale, Martin has been able to continue in the path laid before him and overcome so many obstacles. I highly recommend this book.