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Editorial Reviews

     From Publishers Weekly

     With his bestselling novels (And This Too Shall Pass; Abide with Me; etc.) Harris has carved out a niche as a writer of jaunty books with melodramatic plots, usually centering on gay or bisexual black men with riches and rippling biceps. In stark contrast, Harris's memoir is free of the fancy trappings his characters enjoy, starting with the author's suicide attempt in 1990, before he decided to become a writer. From this beginning, Harris goes back to his birth in 1955 and proceeds chronologically, detailing abuse by his stepfather, the awakenings of sexual desire for other men and the discovery of his biological father. Some passages ache for more detail, as when Harris offhandedly mentions working in a brothel at age 13. More often, though, the pace is fitting, giving the book a sense of forward motion as strong as the thoughts of young Harris, dreaming of escape from his native Arkansas. Although he suffers traumas and frustrations as a child, Harris's love life is most heartbreaking. His struggle to find love as an African-American Southern man led to a series of disappointing relationships that taxed Harris's tenderhearted, affectionate nature. He tells this part of his story with such simplicity and straightforwardness, it seems distilled, stripped down to its barest elements until only the clearest emotions remain. Readers of Harris's novels should be surprised at how far from charmed his life was, compared to the troubled but ultimately blissful lives of his fictional characters. Yet they should appreciate the deep honesty with which he describes each stumble and fall.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

 From  Booklist

    "I set out to write a story for me . . . that would capture the pain and joy of being black and gay. I wanted it to be a love story," Harris says in explanation of his first novel, Invisible Life (1991), which he wrote after years of alcoholism, joblessness, and depression, and after losing friends and a successful lifestyle that once included driving a Mercedes (later repossessed). Raised just a step above welfare in Arkansas and repeatedly and brutally beaten by his stepfather, Ben, Harris for decades carried deep-seated feelings of inferiority and anxiety about being born out of wedlock, about being poor, and about being "different," which he later learned consisted of being gay. His young manhood was a series of drunken flings punctuated by occasional, ill-fated romances that left him ever lonelier and more tearful in his quest for love. When the deaths of friends spurred him to write, the creative act helped him mature into the confident, best-selling author he is now. His fans will embrace his fast-paced memoir eagerly, and then be caught up in this engaging writer's engagingly told life story. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

    Book Description

    For almost a decade, beloved storyteller E. Lynn Harris has welcomed you into his family with his passionate, warm and trail-blazing novels. Now, he invites you into the most intimate world ever--his own.

    Since his first book Invisible Life was published in the early 1990s, New York Times bestselling author E. Lynn Harris has wowed, charmed and romanced millions of readers. As a master storyteller, E. Lynn Harris has created an intimate and glamorous world centered around his signature themes of love, friendship and family. People all over the world have fallen in love with his characters and laughed and cried with them.

    Now, in his most daring act yet, E. Lynn Harris writes the memoir of his life–from his childhood in Arkansas as a closeted gay boy through his struggling days as a self-published author to his rise as a New York Times bestselling author. In What Becomes of the Brokenhearted, E. Lynn Harris shares an extraordinary life touched by loneliness and depression, but more important, he reveals the triumphant life of a small-town dreamer who was able through writing to make his dreams–and more–come true.

    About the Author

    E. LYNN HARRIS is a former IBM computer sales executive and a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is the author of eight novels: A Love of My Own, Any Way the Wind Blows, Not a Day Goes By, Abide with Me, If This World Were Mine, This Too Shall Pass, Just As I Am, and Invisible Life. In 1996 and 2002, Just As I Am and Any Way the Wind Blows were both named Novel of the Year by the Blackboard African American Bestsellers, Inc. If This World Were Mine won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. In 2000 and 2001 Harris was named one of the fifty-five “Most Intriguing African Americans” by Ebony and inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. In 2002, Harris was included in Savoy magazine’s “100 Leaders and Heroes in Black America.” Harris divides his time between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia.

Spotlight Reviews

A Tremendously Courageous Personal Gift, July 22, 2003

    Courageous, admirable, heartfelt, heart warming, emotional. All of these adjectives I would use to describe the memoirs of E. Lynn Harris. Mr. Harris has taken a great step in life, writing down his life for the entire world to see and make comment on and that takes tremendous courage. I can only hope for him, that this is a liberating experience and some of the demons that have fought him have finally turned him loose. Usually not an avid fan of his fictional writing, this chronological autobiography has allowed me to understand more of his fiction and the need that he has for its writing. Totally inspirational, I've garnered a new respect for this caring, spirited man.

    The title alone compelled me to read. To think, What Becomes of the Brokenhearted really is captivating. So many people walk around life with a seemingly perfect outer shell, inside is totally in a shambles. Without an outlet to express oneself, we can easily become brokenhearted and disillusioned. Harris experienced this many times during his life starting with an abusive step father, continuing with a short reunion with his father, his seemingly inability to fit in at school, attempted suicide and general unhappiness with his life. It seems that he spent over half of his life looking for someone to love him and seeking ways in which to love himself, while those of us who would look at him would see IBM Executive, a workingman driving around in the latest greatest car, always on top of his game. Many times this search proved tearful for both author and reader. I found this memoir to be elegantly written and riveting.

    I applaud Mr. Harris. He's shared a part of his soul with the world and I appreciate his efforts. I hope he has found the writing to be therapeutic and those of us who read, take away valuable lessons of understanding, tolerance and hope that people can overcome obstacles and achieve what they themselves find appropriate. There is a great and uplifting lesson to be learned within the pages of What Becomes of the Brokenhearted. You can overcome adversity and arrive at achievement. You Go Boy!

The Real Deal on Brokenhearts, July 29, 2003
 

    This book is phenomenal. E. Lynn Harris has done it this time. Not again, but this time. This is his first non-fiction work and I am sure the hardest for him to write but Mr. Harris has carried this one off like the champion that he is.

    What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted is a book that should be used in substance abuse rehabilitation programs as it can be the light at the end of the tunnel for some broken soul who has lost their way or who thinks that it is just them. Social issues like physical abuse, alcoholism, depression and loss of loved ones are addressed as only Mr. Harris can address them.

    This is a must read, but one can only fully enjoy this work of art if they have followed E. Lynn Harris from Invisible Life.  A fine work.

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08/13/03