Wayne is born into a devout Christian family in the late 1950s American south. From an early age he recognizes his attraction to other men, but he believes that if he prays hard enough god will set him straight, so to speak. Prayer doesn’t help, and neither does marrying a woman he loves, just not in that way. Wayne can’t offer his wife Terri the intimacy she needs. Instead, he ends up looking for anonymous sex in parks, and later on the Internet. These are followed by severe bouts of guilt which drives Wayne deeper into depression.
“The Tongues of Men and Angels” is a moving account of one man’s journey to self-acceptance. Like far too many people, Wayne is born into a world that simply refuses to believe that homosexuality is not a form of satanic possession. Wayne becomes very good at hiding who he really is, but that kind of deception takes a heavy toll on someone who is essentially a good person.
It’s easy to be judgmental and say that Wayne’s deceptions just made everything worse, including the lives of those closest to him. However, that ignores all the things he did, including helping to raise a group of children, that he wouldn’t have been there to do had it not been for his attempts to be straight.
This is one of those stories that people will relate to differently based on their own experiences. Having grown up at the same time, but in a far different environment, I had no frame of reference for Wayne’s experiences. So, while the story is compelling, I found it hard to identify with what he went through.
“The Tongues of Men and Angels” is available from Amazon
