In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.
Chad Anderson’s graphic memoir Gay Mormon Dad is both moving and engrossing.
Publishers Weekly wrote of the book:
“The hard-won insights here will resonate for fans of queer memoir―and any reader who has faced major life transformations.”
In his own words, here is Chad Anderson’s Book Notes music playlist for his graphic memoir Gay Mormon Dad:
Gay Mormon Dad is a graphic memoir about my life in and out of the closet. An adaptation of my 2017 print memoir, with some poignant updates, the book weaves together between two times in my life, both stories moving forward. THEN, painted in blue tones, starts at my birth and ends the day I came out, guiding the reader through a life steeped by trauma and violence. And NOW, painted in warm oranges and reds, begins at my coming out, guiding the reader through a life full of complications, healing, and forward movement. The book is interspersed with poetry I wrote. It is my hope that this book will help people heal as they see themselves in my journey, and learn how to craft a life that they want to live instead of one they are expected to.
REM – LOSING MY RELIGION
The title of this song says it all, this song has become a queer anthem about leaving old systems behind. Leaving the religion I was born into was a singular defining moment in my life. I was on display, ‘me in the corner, me in the spotlight’, as everyone scrutinized my morality based on the singular fact that I declared I was gay. Leaving my religion, according to my family, meant severing ties to salvation and even family in the afterlife, and it came at no small cost. And it was the best decision I ever made.
DETAILS IN THE FABRIC – JASON MRAZ
In the days after I came out, I would sit in my small house, cut off from everything, with my kids, a toddler and an infant, with long nights ahead. Music brought me a lot of deep healing as I learned how to be okay. And this song soothed my soul. ‘If it’s a broken part, replace it. If it’s a broken arm, then brace it. If it’s a broken heart, replace it. Hold your own, know your name, and go your own way, and everything will be fine.”
ELEPHANT – DAMIEN RICE
Damien Rice is one of my all-time favorite artists, to listen to or even to perform covers of. The way he emotes loss and grief stuns me. In this song, Rice sings about a bittersweet break-up and the toll it takes, and it represents, to me, the end of old things and the beginning of new. The way he takes his time in the choruses, the way the music sings in my ears, makes this an all-time favorite.
DARK PARTS – PERFUME GENIUS
Perfume Genius is such a talented queer artist, with some amazing and powerful songs with gorgeous backdrops. This song is simple, but it’s about witnessing abuse and finding joy anyway.
WE FOUND LOVE – RIHANNA
When I first came out, I learned how to love dancing in gay clubs. Finding a rhythm and just leaning into the joyful places that gay clubs provide, there is something so very special about just getting lost in the beat, and nothing captures that feeling more than this song, which was big in the clubs when I came out.
MY MY MY! – TROYE SIVAN
When Sivan released his first album, gay love songs went mainstream in a new way, and this song captures some of the wonder of falling in love and being astounded. It’s an excellent feeling.
NONBELIEVER – LUCY DACUS
This song is all about saying goodbye to old things and expanding horizons as we transition from faith in systems to faith in ourselves.
BEAT AND THE PULSE – AUSTRA
I listen to a lot of music with great beats and vibes like this. My book is full of moments where I find safety in nature, in coffee shops, in clubs, with friends, while traveling. I have a song like this playing in my head most days, and this is one of the best.
BLESS UR HEART – SERPENTWITHFEET
At an art show once, I purchased a piece that showed an ant carrying a typewriter out of a burning city. The artist, as I made my purchase, said, “You must be a writer.” The cost of a story, the feeling of burden and duty in telling it, is a major part of me, and this song captures that energy really well.
WHAT I WANT – MUNA
The biggest part of my coming out journey was learning how to love myself despite all the complications. I’ve become my own favorite person, and it has made all parts of my life stronger. For most people, coming out late means a sense of lost time, of making up for all the time lost, and this captures that energy in the most joyful way.