One of these Things First

by Steven Gaines

Overview

One of These Things First is a wry and poignant reminiscence of a 15 year old gay Jewish boy in Brooklyn in the early sixties, and his unexpected trajectory from a life behind a rack of dresses in his grandmother’s bra and girdle store, to Manhattan’s fabled Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic, a fashionable Charenton for wealthy neurotics and Ivy League alcoholics, whose famous alumni include writers, poets, madmen, Marilyn Monroe, and bestselling author Steven Gaines.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781883285715
Publisher:	Delphinium
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Steven Gaines is the author of Philistines at the Hedgerow: Passion and Property in the Hamptons; The Sky's the Limit: Passion and Property in Manhattan; Simply Halston, the biography of the fashion designer; and co-author of The Love You Make: An Insider's Story of the Beatles, among other books. He's a co-founder of the Hamptons International Film Festival and lives in a small hamlet on the East End of Long Island.

Editorial Reviews

"Funny and poignant."

New York Post

"One of These Things First is not only a departure but an absolute treasure. [Gaines is] a skilled humorist as well as a tender yet trenchant observer of human behavior and the social forces that so often control it."

New York Times Book Review

"A longtime journalist and artful chronicler of New York lives, Gaines’s look back at his own is shocking, funny, and sometimes shockingly funny. A real treasure."

Nickolas Butler

An absolute treasure.” — New York Times Book Review

“An extraordinary book. Incredibly moving and beautifully written.” — Jay McInerney

“Humane and generous…Shocking, funny, and sometimes shockingly funny. A real treasure.” — Boston Globe

“By turns comic, honest, and riveting,” — Publishers Weekly

“A candid, entertaining memoir… A spirited narrative of a hard-won coming-of-age." — Kirkus Reviews

“Years ago Dominick Dunne called Steven Gaines 'a born storyteller.' If anything, we now know Gaines was meant to write his own powerful, heart-wrenching, and funny life story. I could not put it down.” — Steven Petrow, The Washington Post

“This is a memoir for anyone who loves Paddy Chayefsky and Hanya Yanigahara. Steven Gaines has turned his considerable journalistic talents onto his younger self, writing a lyrical, wry and precisely excavated book.” — Carl Swanson, New York Magazine

“Gaines' readers accompany him on this heart wrenching, funny, ultimately triumphant journey.” — Bay Area Reporter

“A poignant and funny book that proves it does get better.” — Joy Behar, The View

From the Publisher

Humane and generous…Shocking, funny, and sometimes shockingly funny. A real treasure.

Boston Globe

Years ago Dominick Dunne called Steven Gaines 'a born storyteller.' If anything, we now know Gaines was meant to write his own powerful, heart-wrenching, and funny life story. I could not put it down.

Steven Petrow

A poignant and funny book that proves it does get better.

Joy Behar

An extraordinary book. Incredibly moving and beautifully written.

Jay McInerney

This is a memoir for anyone who loves Paddy Chayefsky and Hanya Yanigahara. Steven Gaines has turned his considerable journalistic talents onto his younger self, writing a lyrical, wry and precisely excavated book.

Carl Swanson

Gaines' readers accompany him on this heart wrenching, funny, ultimately triumphant journey.

Bay Area Reporter