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Rehoboth Beach #1
As I Lay Frying: A Rehoboth Beach Memoir
This is the little book that could! NOW IN ITS 3rd PRINTING! Rehoboth Beach, Delaware has been called The Nation's Summer Capital ever since the families of U.S. Senators and Congressmen discovered its beauty and charm, spending summers in Rehoboth to escape the oppressive heat and humidity of Washington, DC. Later, Rehoboth became another kind of refuge, when the gay and lesbian communities of the Mid-Atlantic found a beach resort to call their own. In 1995, writer Fay Jacobs and her partner Bonnie literally cruised into town and discovered the unique charm of this seaside community. Almost immediately, Fay began chronicling her life as a Rehoboth weekender in a column that appeared in the magazine Letters from CAMP Rehoboth. In the years that followed, Fay's Rehoboth fans have followed her smart, witty columns as Fay & Bonnie made the transition from visitors to regulars to locals themselves. Fay's unique voice and her willingness to bare it all in print turned her fans into a sort of extended family. Together, these essays tell a story that is sometimes provocative, sometimes political, occasionally heartwarming, and always hilarious. Also by Fay Jacobs, Fried & True- Tales from Rehoboth Beach
272 pages, Paperback
Published May 20, 2004
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About the author
Fay Jacobs
12 books10 followersFay is a native New Yorker, who spent 30 years working in journalism and public relations. Her first book, As I Lay Frying a Rehoboth Beach Memoir (2004) is in its 3rd printing. Her second, Fried & True Tales from Rehoboth Beach won the 2008 National Womens Press Association Book of the Year for humor. Fay is the publisher of A&M Books a small feminist press. Fay has contributed The Advocate, Baltimore Sun, Delaware Beach Life, Sussex Weekly and the Wilmington News Journal. "
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 29, 2020
Reading Road Trip 2020
Current location: Delaware
Like most American school kids, at some point in my public education I was forced to memorize all fifty capitals of all fifty states.
But, when I arrived in Delaware on this road trip, I could not, for the life of me, remember its capital or even one damn city in the state.
Was it because Delaware is just so very small, or because I have three kids and my memory is shot?
I don't know, but I looked it up and it's Dover and I didn't have an A-ha moment at all. I was like, Dover? Never heard of it.
Well, while we're at it, I'd never heard of Rehoboth Beach, either. I also don't know how to pronounce it.
But, despite my ignorance, Rehoboth Beach still exists, and it's a beach town on the coast of the Atlantic.
Also, it's considered a “popular LGBQT-friendly” vacation destination.
Again: all news to me.
As badly as I wish I were a lesbian, sadly, I'm not, so I never received an invitation to drive my Vulva to Rehoboth and go deep sea diving.
And damn it, too, because about five pages in to this memoir, I was in love with the writer, Fay Jacobs, and this compilation of Fay's regular column in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, collected from 1995-2003.
Fay Jacobs refers to these years as the “gay 90s” and jokingly refers to herself as “Fay J.”
These columns of hers are a time capsule of the 1990s and the early 2000s: Bill Clinton, shifting laws and attitudes toward gay marriage, Y2K, 9/11.
And, in the background of these national goings-on and local goings-on are the goings-on of Fay J and her partner, Bonnie, and their Schnauzers of course.
These parts, involving Fay J's personal life with Bonnie, were my favorite parts and the most relatable: living with a partner, relocating, dealing with illness, losing a dog, adopting a dog.
The parts involving local community issues within Rehoboth Beach are the parts that made me lose my moorings in this beach town.
This collection of essays ran hot and cold for me. . . I'd get super wrapped up in an argument Fay and Bonnie had and their make-up compromises. . . then I'd read five essays in a row about Rehoboth Beach's struggle to have enough permits for hot dog vendors. (I'm making up the hot dog vendors, but you get what I mean).
If you are a gay woman and/or you live in or near Delaware, and/or you are a history buff, I think you would truly appreciate what Fay has chronicled here.
For me, I struggled with too many essays focused on national and regional politics, but, damn it, do I know a little something now about Rehoboth Beach!
Also, I'd like Fay Jacobs to adopt me.
Current location: Delaware
Like most American school kids, at some point in my public education I was forced to memorize all fifty capitals of all fifty states.
But, when I arrived in Delaware on this road trip, I could not, for the life of me, remember its capital or even one damn city in the state.
Was it because Delaware is just so very small, or because I have three kids and my memory is shot?
I don't know, but I looked it up and it's Dover and I didn't have an A-ha moment at all. I was like, Dover? Never heard of it.
Well, while we're at it, I'd never heard of Rehoboth Beach, either. I also don't know how to pronounce it.
But, despite my ignorance, Rehoboth Beach still exists, and it's a beach town on the coast of the Atlantic.
Also, it's considered a “popular LGBQT-friendly” vacation destination.
Again: all news to me.
As badly as I wish I were a lesbian, sadly, I'm not, so I never received an invitation to drive my Vulva to Rehoboth and go deep sea diving.
And damn it, too, because about five pages in to this memoir, I was in love with the writer, Fay Jacobs, and this compilation of Fay's regular column in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, collected from 1995-2003.
Fay Jacobs refers to these years as the “gay 90s” and jokingly refers to herself as “Fay J.”
These columns of hers are a time capsule of the 1990s and the early 2000s: Bill Clinton, shifting laws and attitudes toward gay marriage, Y2K, 9/11.
And, in the background of these national goings-on and local goings-on are the goings-on of Fay J and her partner, Bonnie, and their Schnauzers of course.
These parts, involving Fay J's personal life with Bonnie, were my favorite parts and the most relatable: living with a partner, relocating, dealing with illness, losing a dog, adopting a dog.
The parts involving local community issues within Rehoboth Beach are the parts that made me lose my moorings in this beach town.
This collection of essays ran hot and cold for me. . . I'd get super wrapped up in an argument Fay and Bonnie had and their make-up compromises. . . then I'd read five essays in a row about Rehoboth Beach's struggle to have enough permits for hot dog vendors. (I'm making up the hot dog vendors, but you get what I mean).
If you are a gay woman and/or you live in or near Delaware, and/or you are a history buff, I think you would truly appreciate what Fay has chronicled here.
For me, I struggled with too many essays focused on national and regional politics, but, damn it, do I know a little something now about Rehoboth Beach!
Also, I'd like Fay Jacobs to adopt me.
January 12, 2019
In As I Lay Frying author Fay Jacobs writes down her Rehoboth Beach memoirs. The first book is a collection of essays that run from 1995 to 2003. The adventures she and her partner Bonnie get into are often hilarious. The topics are relationships, day-to-day dilemmas, miniature schnautzers, relocating to a gay friendly beach resort, politics.
It’s very entertaining and stays that way if you dole it out a bit, like one or two chapters at a time before turning in.
f/f
Themes: older lesbians, relocating, schnautzers, politics of the late 90ies, Y2K, a gay beach resort, boating, entertaining read.
4 stars
It’s very entertaining and stays that way if you dole it out a bit, like one or two chapters at a time before turning in.
f/f
Themes: older lesbians, relocating, schnautzers, politics of the late 90ies, Y2K, a gay beach resort, boating, entertaining read.
4 stars
August 2, 2011
Full disclosure: Fay is a dear friend of mine. But that's no reason not to read this screamingly funny - and also quite thought-provoking memoir. For years, Fay has written a column for the local G/L newsletter in Rehoboth Beach. "As I Lay Frying" is the first collection of her columns. Because it's a book of columns, each chapter functions as its own short story - but because they're all autobiographical, a wonderful story emerges when taken as a whole. Specifically, it's a story about how the community that you live in can shape your whole outlook on life, and how much easier it is to empower yourself when in the company of those who expect nothing less from you. And before I get too philosophical about the whole thing, it's also really, really funny. And yes, I'm in it. Repeatedly. But yes, Fay and I are still speaking. Miraculously.
May 4, 2021
I really enjoyed this book and the author's style of writing, though some of the then-contemporary issues written about made me feel terribly young! I liked the personal essays more than the topical ones, but it's usually the nature of compilations to not have everything appeal to you.
January 9, 2013
Loved it!On to her next book!
September 12, 2007
Fay is a funny writer who does a great job sharing the details of her not-so-wealthy, not-so-glamourous life in Rehoboth Beach, DE. Yes, there is a "gay focus" to the book; however, not so much so that most folks couldn't otherwise get into it: growing older, the horrors of closing on a house (when things go wrong at the last minute, etc.
December 22, 2010
About Rehoboth Beach, one of our favorite places to go. Fay Jacobs is a witty writer who shares her take on current events, esp. related to GLBT issues, her personal life and how the two interact in sometimes hilarious ways.
April 12, 2014
If you want a light read and a good laugh pick up any one of Fay's "Frying" series!
January 12, 2025
deleware
May 12, 2011
Very funny easy read. Now I have to visit Rehobath.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews