Product Description

At the age of 12 Martin Moran was involved in a sexual relationship with an older man, a counsellor from a Catholic boy's camp. Thirty years later, he set out to find and confront his abuser. 'The Tricky Part' is the story of the man Martin Moran became, and the ambiguous relationship with his abuser that would mark his life. Growing up in an ordinary family, a family that belonged to Christ the King, the local church and school, Martin Moran absorbed the lessons of Catholicism in his childhood, the fraught mysteries of the spirit and the flesh. Into Martin's world came Bob, a veteran of the Vietnam War who was building a ranch out of the mountain wilderness. Bob taught the boys under his care how to milk cows, raft rivers and mend barbed wire fences. However, he also noticed Martin, a young boy who was unsure of himself and befriended him. The friendship, and the sexual abuse, lasted for three years. The abuse, and the relationship, shaped and scarred Martin. Told with startling honesty, humour and understanding 'The Tricky Part' is the story of a complex friendship, a relationship that damaged but also inspired the transformation of Martin Moran's life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #372530 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

'Gay Times'
"Martin Moran has achieved a rare feat with The Tricky Part...
This is a great work."

'The Times'
"For three years Martin Moran was sexually abused as a boy... an eloquent
exploration of the forces that have shaped him."

'Irish Post'
"A moving literary debut full of courage and generosity... A
memoir that's part confessional, part forgiveness and part love story."

Customer Reviews

Truly Inspiring
Martin Moran writes eloquently about his early life in Denver, his childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a camp counsellor, and the devastating consequences on his life for 30 years thereafter. His style is wonderfully rich; the story is beautifully written. Despite the subject matter, the book remains positive throughout. I couldn't put it down.

Moran describes in detail the love-hate sexual relationship into which he willingly returned over and over from the age of 12, in a desperate search for confidence and companionship, and despite the serious questions arising in his mind. His desperately conflicting emotions, and concerns about complicity, are contrasted with his strict Catholic home life, and education in a prestigious Catholic school. After 3 years he finally tells the man he has had enough, and escapes the abuse only to realise that his life has been affected forever and he is in a downward spiral. Yet he tells no-one and finally attempts suicide.

The story then follows him into adulthood, and shows the longer term effects of his abuse as they torment him through his time studying law at University before switching to a career in the performing arts. He struggles to make his way in New York, having counselling and attending self help groups. He is lucky to have a good circle of friends, but still finds it almost impossible to control his sexual compulsions.

He nevertheless establishes a long term relationship with Henry, a fellow actor and musician. Without saying much, it is clear that he owes a great deal to this relationship, and the steady love he has found there. He is ultimately able to confront his abuser, 30 years on, and still see in him the good as well as the bad.

This is a truly inspiring story, not just for those who have experienced childhood sexual abuse, but for anyone who wants to celebrate the human spirit through this particular passage from Trespass into Grace.

Frank and enightening memoir
Frank and moving account of the abuse the writer suffered as a child, and how he was subsequently affected and managed to cope. When he was twelve years old Martin Moran was seduced and abused at the hands of a camp counsellor named Bob, and so entered a relationship that lasted not unwillingly for three years. But the effects were lasting; such that Martin eventually took steps to confront the issues head on.
Martin's memoir is Insightful and enlightening, not always easy to come to terms with, for while what he suffered as a child was clearly an abuse, he was not an unwilling participant, and it maybe opened the way for Martin to accept more readily his life as a gay man. His account tells in detail of his early days, of the seduction and the continue relationship and its effects; of how he came to terms with the abuse, and of a successful career that eventually took him to Broadway.
Martin Moran's open well written account, at times funny, at others moving, is well worth reading