All That I Am

by William George

The small town of Welko, Utah should have a warning posted on the city limits sign, stating that homosexuals need not apply. This point is driven home to Dr. Dan Baxter, who's called out several times to treat men and women who've been harmed by homophobes. Shy by nature and inhibited by his past, Dan lives a solitary life. He longs for love, but knows a relationship with another man would endanger himself and his son, Marty.Billy Webber is Marty's best friend, and they always kick off summer vacation by spending the first day together. When Dan and Marty arrive at Billy's house Monday afternoon, they discover that police sergeant Lloyd Webber, Billy's stepfather, has severely beaten the young man. Billy reveals that he's endured such abuse before and was trying to leave. Fearing for Billy's life, Dan takes the young man home with him, and calls on friend and attorney Rob Sheridan to help legally protect Billy.From these painful and uncertain beginnings, the four men struggle to find their way to love and acceptance.

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 28, 2011

Reviews

[LaShonta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this on another site before published. I loved it then and I love it now.

[Octobercountry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve just finished---gasp---an actual paperback! I hadn’t really thought about it, but over the past year or two the majority of the books I’ve read have been on the Kindle, not printed on paper...

This story is a bit unusual, in that it’s the first I’ve ever read that deals with both a father’s and a son’s romance. Wait---I don’t mean that they’re having a romance with each other! (Argh---now that’s a type of story I wouldn’t care to read at all.) I mean, that the book is about the relationships of a gay father and a gay son. Teens Marty and Billy have been friends for seven years, and finally decide to get together. Marty’s father Dan has been friends with attorney Rob for a couple of years, but has kept his feelings for the other man tightly under wraps---only when he and Rob start working together to protect Billy from his abusive step-father does he at last begin to explore these emotions.

When the story began, I thought the primary plot would be about the younger men, but in the end it had a bit more to do with Dan and Rob. Perhaps there’s a lack of focus here, though I’m not sure how I feel about this divided story-line. Would the book have been better if it had concentrated solely on one couple or the other?

It’s an okay story, with some emotional content that did play on my heart strings a bit. However, there’s an odd element to the plot---the super-secretive and extremely intimidating security force that is enlisted to protect Billy from his angry step-father, who is out for revenge. This seemed to be a bit out of place in a story that otherwise would appear to be more reality-based. And heck---just who called these men in on the job in the first place---I’m trying to remember if the book even said. I’m assuming it would have been Rob, but… Honestly, I probably would have deleted this bit from the story arc.

The book contains a fair number of what I’ll chastely describe as “romantic interludes”---heh. As always---this can either be a plus or a minus, depending on what you’re looking for in a story. The more explicit scenes (many between Dan and Rob, but a few between Marty and Billy as well) are fairly well-written, at least. Lately I’ve found I’ve been kind of bored by this sort of content in my recent reading, but I suppose my interest level really depends on how they’re written…

So…. I suppose this falls somewhere in the middle of the “pleasant diversion” sliding scale. I enjoyed it well enough as I was reading, but it’s a tale that’s unlikely to leave a lasting impression.

Here’s an interesting fact---the author blurb describes William George as Married, with three children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, William wrote All That I Am to show his firm conviction that love is love, no matter where or with whom we find it, and that it matters not who we love, but that we love…. Surely there aren’t too many straight men out there writing gay romance, are there?

(Okay, I guess I’m just assuming that the author is in fact straight---I honestly have no idea.)

[Kell I Am · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn book makes me cry every time, lol. Two love stories, one older, one a first love. The are a few truly wonderful parts in here, including my favorite. Spoken by Judy, ex of Dan, mother of Marty. "The measure of a man should never preclude tears."