My Book: OK2BG
Updated: Mar 1, 2021
OK2BG is narrative nonfiction & an insightful story in Memoir format about a guy who candidly attempts to help kids at-risk; together with a comprehensive list of biographies about bold men who had the tenacity to express themselves, deliberately intended for students & school libraries.
Subtitle -
OK2BG - a cipher or cryptogram in the style of a monogram, as a reminder for self-introspection: to acknowledge any person construed as different, and to show support for their basic human right to exist in peace - plus a comprehensive reconnaissance with regard to biographies about bold men who had the tenacity to express themselves for the advancement of individuality and universal diversity!
Back Cover Synopsis -
OK2BG is a somewhat personal story in the form of a Memoir about a guy who wants to be a Mentor preferably to a teenager, so they can have a decent & meaningful conversation about stuff & preferably with a kid at-risk, or just otherwise lost, in order to help both the teenager as well as the determined subject of this story realize their unique potential & find or reinforce their place in the world.
Overall, a chronicle about the author's attempt over several years to understand the question of 'why do I want to be a Mentor' & 'how can I become a better Mentor', which eventually help make him a better person as a result.
But tied in a proverbial loop, the protagonist, Jack Knot tries more than a few times to be a Mentor to a few disadvantaged teens, who don't necessarily know that they need or even want our hero's help, much to his disappointment.
Subsequently in September, 2010 after a plague of teen suicides around the country, Jack turns his attention to researching & organizing gay biographies into optimistically appropriate groups of books for gay kids at-risk; repressed as a result of bullying.
After 5 years Jack has categorized more than 2,000 books in the form of Memoirs, Biographies & Autobiographies written by or about more than 1,000 allegedly gay men.
His original plan was to help as many gay kids as possible by donating the books to school libraries.
In the meantime, he offers an honest approach to the problem & a list of 2,000+ books for anyone, gay or straight, to find & figure out an alternative tactic, or read & reevaluate, to get inspired for your own sake.
The primary message within OK2BG is to read & reassess before you run asunder!
Book Review -
The US Review of Books
Reviewed by Dylan Ward
"I knew I wanted to do something significant to help mankind, or perhaps I just wanted to save one life somehow, and maybe my own in the process."
In what begins as a humorous attempt to become involved in a mentor program, Jack Dunsmoor accidentally finds himself drawn into a complex system to help at-risk kids that tests both his emotional and physical strength. After a chance meeting with the shy, vulnerable fifteen year-old Andrew and later the young men, Tosh and Devin, Jack quickly faces harsh realities as he plunges into the convoluted maze of social workers and foster children. Plagued by strange and vivid dreams and nightmares in the lengthy attempt to realize his goal of finding Andrew and to help Tosh and Devin, Jack learns the difficult and unsettling truths of the foster system.
Compelled to do more and not fail to help at-risk youth in the future, specifically gay teens, Jack creates The OK2BG, a book donation project that delivers books about the lives of gay men to schools and public libraries. The primary intent of the project is to give young gay men support and guidance, who are often bullied and susceptible to suicide. It is a way for Jack to contribute a small solution to very large social issues.
OK2BG is an eye-opening and personal experience of self-discovery that sheds light on a broken system. Written as a memoir compiled from Jack's diary entries of his troublesome days navigating the social work system, he invests much of the memoir on the myriad details of his journey and fight, interjected with self-reflection of his own past and the self doubts of his mission. The most memorable moments are Jack's dreams, which are hallucinatory, disturbing, and haunting, but his tenacity and optimism to fulfill both father and big brother roles to those he feels called to help is admirable.
Book Quiz -
What do you think the 5-digit OK2BG book title means?
Click on the 'Plan B / feet on vacation' link -
to read/think/test your wits with more than a few options!
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