Congratulations, the Best Is Over!: Essays by R. Eric Thomas
In this new collection of laugh-out-loud funny essays, R. Eric Thomas picks up where his last memoir (Here For It, 2020) left off. Newly married and enjoying professional success, Thomas’ life is upended when his husband, a Presbyterian pastor, takes a job in Thomas’ hometown of Baltimore. He wonders if, after more than a decade away, it’s possible to go home again. And does he even want to?
Between musings about Oprah and gay frogs, Thomas finds humor in his life’s upheaval. He struggles with depression and making new friends. He buys a house in the suburbs and feels weird about it. He supports his grieving partner after the loss of a parent. Throughout, Thomas confides his fears and insecurities with his signature self-deprecating, over-the-top style. Even in dark places—the cemetery, the ER, a class reunion where no one remembers his name—R. Eric Thomas’ writing is joyful and uplifting.
This book is for anyone out there struggling with getting older and embracing change.
Reviewed by Emma Radosevich, collection development librarian, Whatcom County Library System
(Originally published in Bellingham Alive November/December 2023 issue.)