In this unique memoir, Primetime CNN anchor Don Lemon takes readers behind the scenes of journalism, detailing his own struggle to become one of the most prominent African American men in television news—and inside some of the biggest stories of our times. And in the biggest news of all, he comes out as a gay man.
Never one to stop at the surface of the story, Lemon digs deep, exposing his own history with wealth and lack, with family secrets and painful revelations—and explains how those painful early experiences shaped his ambitions and gave him the tools of empathy and fearlessness that he brings to his work. Then Lemon turns the same searing honesty on the news industry itself, taking the reader behind the scenes of September 11, 2001, the DC Snipers, the epidemic of AIDS in Africa, Hurricane Katrina, the election of Barack Obama, and the death of Michael Jackson among other events.
With his clear and compelling storytelling and the rich detail of an Emmy–winning journalist, Lemon reveals his own painful journey from a little boy who dreamed of broadcasting in segregated Baton Rouge in the early 70s, to his current perch at CNN in a fascinating and compelling look at the world of television news and his own experiences reporting in it.
Don Lemon’s memoir not only takes us behind the scenes at CNN but also behind the closet he was in. Lemon has become the most prominent African American man on television today and he is highly respected as well as a role model for young men who strive to do something positive with their lives. He has managed to report some of the major stories of our age and he looks damn good as well. (I know that was not necessary but I could not help myself).
Lemon looks at his life in the same way an investigative reporter probes for a story. We hear his family secrets as well as his own big secret. He shows us how some very painful experiences have shaped who he is today. It has been Lemon’s honesty that has given him the high regard that he gets. He tells us about 9/11, the snipers that held Washington, D.C. in fear, the horrible AIDS epidemic in Africa, Hurricane Katrina and its heartbreak, Obama’s rise and election to the presidency and the death of pop star, Michael Jackson. There are only some of the highlights of his career at CNN. He has won the Emmy and he shares with us his journey from the baton Rouge of the 70’s where segregation still ruled to Atlanta and CNN. He is well known and highly respected and now he is willing to put his life on the line by coming out as a gay man and thereby showing African American youth that it does “get better”. He is quite the man who stresses that he was born gay and he has come to terms with it. His integrity is his calling card and he is so badly needed as a model of kids to ascribe to. We owe him a great deal and I personally am proud to have him as a member of our community.
