A personal and candid memoir dealing with the issue of how masculinity is shaped by culture, society and race that challenges the reader to dig deeply into their biases and prejudices to counter preconceived ideas and be more open to differences. Very engaging read.

The author is Chinese and grew up in Canada. He shares his experiences of sometimes being the only Asian person in his class - not only what he felt, but what he saw as his feelings emerged. Interspersed with the personal experiences are historical information, results of gender studies and other studies that provide detail on how men, particularly Asian men, see themselves. As a white woman I found this information very helpful in better understanding men of all races.

Of particular note are the lengths to which the author went to understand queer masculinity as he is cis. He spent time interacting and interviewing queer men which makes this brief book broader in its discourse on the topic. I admired the author in doing this as he was sure in his own masculinity not to be afraid to reach out to those men different from - regardless of race. I’m not sure many men would done this.

I highly recommend this book to all seeking to understand differences, broaden their perspectives on masculinity and generally want to learn to be better humans.

My thanks to NetGalley and Thornapple Press for allowing me access to this ARC.