Thomas Page McBee writes about manhood - in all its danger and damaged allure - more beautifully and with greater nuance than any other writer I know. Man Alive is a brilliant, necessary book
GARTH GREENWELL, author of What Belongs to You Literate and witty . . . Valuable and engaging

New Statesman

... Read moreA sweet, tender hurt of a memoir . . . about forgiveness and self-discovery, but mostly it's about love, so much love. McBee takes us in his capable hands and shows us what it takes to become a man who is gloriously, gloriously alive
ROXANE GAY, author of Bad Feminist Reading Man Alive is like sitting with someone uncurling his hands, then holding them out to you, open, so that you can behold all the hard-won strength, insight, agility, and love to be found there
MAGGIE NELSON, author of The Argonauts Empathy is McBee's objective, the most important part of becoming real in one's own eyes . . . we are born human; with hard work, we achieve humanity

New York Times

By turns despairing and hopeful, exceptional and relatable. To read it is to witness the birth of a fuller, truer self. I loved this book
ANN FRIEDMAN A vitally important book. McBee's story harnesses the power of self-inquiry, of generosity, of a transformation powerful enough to address even the fallout from child abuse

Los Angeles Review of Books

McBee's beautifully written story is engrossing and brave, and rings with triumph

Buzzfeed

A brilliant work of art. I bow down to McBee - his humility, his sense of humor, his insightfulness, his structural deftness, his ability to put into words what is often said but rarely, with such visceral clarity and beauty, communicated
HEIDI JULAVITS, author of The Vanishers and The Uses of Enchantment A story about patience, forgiveness, kindness and bravery . . . With this book, Thomas Page McBee has done exactly what we should all strive for: to tell our stories in ways that humanize rather than sensationalize
LAUREN MORELLI, writer, Orange Is the New Black Show Less