Becoming Ted: The joyful and uplifting novel from the author of The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle

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My favourite character in the book was Stanley, who Ted befriends quite by chance while he is out on a walk with his pup Lilly (named after the drag queen Lilly Savage, who I used to love watching on the TV and always thought was hilarious on Blankety Blank! But, the writing really has to resonate with me; it has to make me feel something and has to be something that is tolerable for my senses! Becoming Ted is a glorious read, a story of identity and belonging, of friendship and love — it’s a touching, joyous, heartwarming hug-in-a-book.

But usually, the things about ourselves that we're told are 'too much' or that we tone down, whether because of our gender or anything else, are actually the things we should embrace wholeheartedly, as they are who we are at our essence.And that’s when Ted’s epiphany happens: he knows what he wants to do, what he’s wanted to do, deep down, he realises, since he was eight. It was such a joy being on Ted's journey to find his true self and to read about all the amazing people he met along the way.

One of our characters suffers from self loathing which has a negative impact on his whole life and his relationships (or lack thereof) with the people around him. Stanley is purely fantabulosa, he’s just an icon, super super lovable and funny, a great personality but we too get to see some of his painful past.Ted is a middle-aged white gay man, and the book very much looks at queerness through a white gay lens. In het begin komt Ted soms nog wat zwaarmoedig over, vult hij veel voor anderen in en mag hij best meer vertrouwen hebben in de steun van zijn dierbaren, maar uiteindelijk wordt zijn groei goed neergezet, gaat hij stralen, bevrijdt hij zich van de verwachtingen van anderen en volgt hij zijn hart. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the acknowledgments, they are very sweet and gave me goosebumps so please do take the time to read them. Ted and his husband Giles separate and it starts a shift in Ted, he realizes he has to find out who he REALLY is, without a husband. His parents, his sister and his best friend, Denise all try to provide emotional support and distraction.

Ted Ainsworth is the intended heir to his parents’ ice-cream parlour, but, poor man, he has never plucked up the courage to admit to them that he doesn’t actually like ice-cream. I was really enamoured with Matt Cain's, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle and I absolutely adored Becoming Ted. It’s not long before the reader learns the nature of Ted’s dream but although the destination may be clear, it’s the journey that Ted goes on to reach it that is at the heart of the book. We are transported to a whole new POV and some of it is very hard hitting, Oskar’s story in particular. The premise is fab (43yo man is brutally dumped by his husband, reevaluates how much he's been putting himself last for others, and erupts out of chrysalis as drag queen, with new romance) and there's a wonderfully conceived cast, with steadfast if flawed friends, a really moving defiant elderly gay gentleman, and Polish new man with his own heavy baggage.

By the middle of the book I was emotionally invested in most of the characters and couldn’t get enough of the story. Because we are told what they are doing, what they are thinking, what they are feeling — but we aren’t shown it.