Broome refuses to pare down his interrogation of manhood, and he offers up his own life as a window, writing with lyricism, vividness and unflinching honesty as he ushers readers through the stages of his becoming.

... reads as a series of essays in which voice, time, and even point of view shift in service of evocative, unflinching storytelling.

Brian Broome loses no time establishing his bona fides as the most fearless of memoirists who is capable of such magic.

... ferocious honesty and a cutting insight.

Beautifully interwoven with the spare but piercing lines of Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem 'We Real Cool,' Punch Me Up to the Gods nevertheless unravels the complicated realities of being Black and male and gay.

Ambitiously structured around Gwendolyn Brooks’s iconic poem 'We Real Cool,' Brian Broome’s debut memoir of growing up Black and gay in 1980’s Ohio is an electrifying read. Vulnerable and poetic but filled with a ferocious fire, it grabs you from the first page to the last. Perfect for fans of Sarah Broom, Kiese Laymon, and Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight..

... a compelling memoir bursting at the seams with raw power. From the first line, Broome asserts his unique voice.

... magnificent and harrowing.

... engrossing.