{"product_id":"one-of-these-things-first-9781883285692","title":"One of These Things First","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eOne of These Things First\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith a gimlet eye and a true gift for storytelling, Gaines captures his childhood shtetl in Brooklyn like an Edward Hopper tableau, with all its dramas and secrets: his philandering grandfather with his fleet of Cadillacs and Corvettes; a trio of harpy saleswomen; a giant, empty movie theater, his portal to the outside world; a shirtless teenage boy pushing a lawnmower in front of a house on Long Island; and a pair of tormenting bullies who own the corner candy store whose taunts drive him to a suicide attempt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSteven Gaines also takes the reader behind the walls of Payne Whitney, the \"Harvard of psychiatric clinics,\" as Time magazine called it, populated by a captivating group of neurasthenics who subtly begin to change him in unexpected ways. The cast of characters includes a famous Broadway producer who becomes his unlikely mentor, an elegant woman who claimed to be the ex-mistress of newly elected president John F. Kennedy, a snooty, suicidal Harvard architect, and a seductive young Contessa. At the center of the story is a brilliant young psychiatrist who promises to cure a young boy of his homosexuality and give him the normalcy he so longs for. Through it all, Gaines weaves a tale that delights and disturbs with his trademark raconteur panache.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Delphinium Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/09\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781883285692\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 272\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.30h x 5.20w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2016 pg. 82\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/27\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2016\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Steven Gaines","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44848920264885,"sku":"9781883285692","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_0f0b87f5-ac16-4eff-8a5d-d052e805ca67.jpg?v=1732634274","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/one-of-these-things-first-9781883285692","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}