Unraveling

By: Rick R. Reed

Narrated by: David Allen Vargo

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Randy Kay has the perfect life with his beautiful wife and adorable son. But Randy's living a lie, untrue to himself and everyone who knows him. He's gay.

Marriage and fatherhood, which he thought could change him, have failed. He doubts if anyone can love him for who he really is--especially himself.

With his wife's blessing, he sets out to explore the gay world he's hidden from all his life.

John Walsh, a paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department, is comfortable in his own skin as a gay man, yet he can never find someone who shares his desire to create a real relationship, a true family.

When Randy and John first spy each other in Chicago's Boystown, all kinds of alarms go off--some of joy, others of deep-seated fear.

Randy and John must surmount multiple hurdles on the journey to a lasting, meaningful love. Will they succeed or will their chance at love go up in flames, destroyed by missed connections and a lack of self-acceptance?

©2020 Rick R. Reed (P)2022 Rick R. Reed

WOW! What a Story!

What a very powerful story. This story will is actually 2 stories in one that sort of circle around each other and then slowly meld into one. There isn't any way to really talk about it without giving something important away. I will say it's not hearts and flowers, it is a harsh reality, but worth the read or the listen. The narration of this book was simply amazing.

a great hard story

I didn't care for Violet from the start. She knew Randy was gay for several years and didn't address it. She chose to be an ostrich with her head in the sand. For too long, Violet let her parents lead her around by the nose like she was a small child . I had no respect for her. Sneaking away like a thief in the night, then coming back to "steal " more mutual items. That's sick and childish. Violet finally woke up, but it was so late in the story, that I still didn't respect her. I respected Randy and empathized with all he had to deal with. I applauded his courage to live his authentic life. Violet's parents were vile empty vessels of prejudice and biases. Henry was the biggest and most pleasurable shock at the end of the story. Kudos. Life shouldn't be this hard and it breaks my heart what people had to go through just to live their lives. I voluntarily listened to a free copy of this and am giving an honest review. The narrator did a great job bringing the characters and story to life.

Poignant and Moving

A poignant story of a man struggling to accept who he is and maintain the relationships he values more than life. Marriage is not easy, neither is being a father or a husband. Add in a life change and discovery that acceptance must not only come from those we love but more importantly from ourselves. Randy struggles but with the help and love of John and Randy’s ex-wife, but until Randy can accept himself and his new life, his struggles will become harder and more difficult.

Rick Reed, the author, provides realistic characters struggling through revelations and acceptance, fear, doubt, confusion, and more. The dialogue is authentic and keeps the story moving forward. This is a moving book that will have the listener in tears and connect with John, Randy, and Violet in ways that are surprising. Reed’s writing style leaves the listener wondering how it is possible for hate to survive so strongly in some and not exist in others. The struggles Randy faces is barely discussed but are very real. Reed’s writing is clear and moving, bringing to light the effects of such hatred and confusion. Reed’s writing is clear and with vivid details.

The narrator, David Allen Vargo is perfect for this story. His ability to speak clearly, and project the fear, doubt, confusion and other emotions faced by each character is very well done. While the author’s writing is moving, it is clearly Vargo’s performance that pushes the listener into hearing and experiencing the fear, self-doubt, hatred of one’s self and others, confusion and longing. Each character is given a unique voice to reflect their personality and pain. Vargo projects emotions vividly and accurately.

This is a well-done romance and self-discovery book of love between same-sex partners and their struggles. This is a book that addresses suicide, LGBTQ relationships, and hatred and proves how hard life can be when we get in our own way. The story is told from a variety of views – each chapter identifies whose perspective it is from.

There were no issues with the quality or production of this audiobook.

Good story, Great Performance!

This was an emotional read for me because I had a family member that tried to commit suicide in this same manner. This is not a spoiler as it occurs as the opening to the book. Readers should be prepared for this possible trigger. I would recommend this book so long as the reader is ready for a bit of an emotional ride.

As always David Allen Vargo did a wonderful job. He brought all the characters to life, and that's with this book asking for a wide range from him. His delivery of the main characters plight had me actually tearing up while listening. Well done, David! I listened to the entire book in one day, and now I wish I had stretched out the experience a bit.

Entertaining and realistic!

This story took place in 1980s in Chicago. It opens on the MC planning suicide because he cannot imagine letting his family down when they find out he is gay. I won't share anymore about the story, but I graduated high school during that time and found it to be absolutely realistic! I found the twists and turns of the story to be intriguing, and I love how flawed (yet realistic) the characters were. The one flaw I found was the lack of description of the lovemaking of the love interests, when there was so much given of the tawdry hookups in the backrooms of the bars. Overall, I found this book to be highly enjoyable, including the narration (which I haven't been a fan of when I heard him in the past).

Emotional Story

After reading the blurb, I assumed this was going to be an emotional read. There is quite a journey before the HEA. I thought the story and the characters were realistic, and the narrator did a good job giving each character a distinct voice.

a story of self acceptance and exploration

Unraveling is an emotional, powerful, true to life story about self acceptance and discovery in the '80s. Randy hid his true self when he got married to a woman and had a son. He can't live this lie anymore and starts to explore his true self. When Randy meets John in Chicago's Boystown the journey to their happily ever after is filled with bumps and hurdles along the way. I love that Randy wants to be the best father he can be for his son. He wants to be a good example and be honest with himself. I enjoyed the different points of view and was glad to see Violet stand up for Randy and their son. This is such a touching story and I highly recommend it.
Narrator David Allen Vargo does a fabulous job. The background sounds got to be a bit much though I don't mind some.

Great book

This book was really interesting I enjoyed the way everything progressed how they all found themselves with hard decisions on their hands and had to push through the hard parts of life to reach a better outcome for themselves and the ones they cared about

Not what I was expecting

But that’s not a bad thing, I wouldn’t classify it really as romance though it did have an underlying one in there that I really wish was explored more but this was honestly a beautiful story filled with wonderfully flawed characters. It deals with heavy topics and is pretty emotional. The narration was done well. I enjoyed some of the effects like the music parts but the tinny inner voice was a bit irritating. I do think however that this was a story that was definitely enhanced in audio form and I enjoyed it more than if I had just read it myself.

Realistic, emotional and informative

This book should be added to the syllabi of courses covering LGBTQ life in the 1980s. Pair it with Randy Shilts' And the Band Played On and some other works and one would have the facts of what it was like being, both closeted and out, in this period and a fictional portrait showing the emotional costs and rewards. We get pictures of families dealing lovingly and appallingly with homosexuality, we see the toll of the AIDS epidemic during the years when it was feared and generally a death sentence and we see the club scene in both its positive community sense and as a place where people often struggled to make connections and looking back from today, where lack of understanding/homophobia and lack of safe sex practices cost lives. Should definitely be read by anyone who reads contemporary M/M romance as a chance to think about where we have been and what has/has not changed. I read this first and recently listened to the audio version. David Allen Vargo does a superb job. He captures the emotionally charged moments without ever going over the top or making a false step.