What a charmed life the author has led. He was likely going to be a casualty of the Sri Lankan civil war and had the incalculable good fortune to be whisked into a world of white American privilege by a pair of professional do-gooders. His parents were loving, kind, and above all <I>good</i> people. They prevented his life from descending into factional or sectarian strife; but more than that, they taught him what it means to be loved fully, deeply, and forgivingly.

I'm not going to read the whole book carefully because it's just too long. It needed to be 2/3 the size it is. Repetition of themes os still repetition and it's very, very repetitive. His life is interesting for its beginning, and relatable for his queerness marking him out as another kind of stranger among the people he's found himself...but that ain't NOTHIN' compared to the Sri Lankan cultural bias he'd've faced! (I know some Tamil queer men online and there's nothing quite like a religious-nut culture to hate its queers.)

Definitely an enjoyable read, a little long and sometimes a tad redundant, but otherwise, a very enjoyable story. As somebody who has lived in the same house their entire life, it's hard for me to imagine a life filled with so many places and experiences.

Certainly a fascinating tale on how Garon after being left, days old, at a Sri Lankan orphange overcame all hurdles in his life to become happy, successful in his career, married to Jamie and adopt 2 kids and maintain great family and friendship links all the way through
This is not a story of overcoming rampant racism or homophobia, in fact in many ways most of us ( who are affected by either) have endured similar or even worse than he mentions in his memoirs although there are occasions these things do occur and he battles through them
After his initial bad start in life he will agree he had a privileged life, living around the world and going to American Schools wherever he was and spending nights and holidays at friends’ houses who were Ambassadors children or similar, from humble beginnings life was and is generous to him
He loves his family, this is evident throughout and was disappointed in how one very major player in his life suddenly was gone
The book is in full flow and then seems to just end, quite abruptly, I guess it’s a good sign I wanted to read more!
It was though interesting to read about his life in various places in the world and his gregarious nature and personality shone through each page
I feel like I have read someones random yet vibrant memoirs and not quite sure why but am no worse off for doing so

4 Stars