“Ryan” is the opening chapter of Jordan Ritter Conn’s biographical tapestry, American Men, releasing from Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group) on April 21st of this year. American Men is not the sort of title to which I usually migrate; however, the description promised a diverse collection of portraits with a re-framing of masculinity through…
OPENINGS by Rae Cline
“Ryan” is the opening chapter of Jordan Ritter Conn’s biographical tapestry, American Men, releasing from Grand Central Publishing (Hachette Book Group) on April 21st of this year. American Men is not the sort of title to which I usually migrate; however, the description promised a diverse collection of portraits with a re-framing of masculinity through a critical, empathetic lens:
He felt a push, two hands to the chest, and he staggered back and nearly fell. He stopped, found his balance. And in the moments that followed Ryan realized something: Violence could be fucking awesome. You just had to be its instrument, never its victim. Ryan had spent years taking beatings. But right now, without thinking, he did what he’d long fantasized but never imagined he’d follow through on. He punched a man in the face….
Ryan is one subject among four chosen by Conn from his travels and interviews across the United States. Ryan joins Gideon, Joseph and Nate in alternating chapters, an artful structure weaving varied experiences of masculinity.
Ryan grew up on the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation and is a sophomore in college. He is out with his friends for an evening of drinking and dancing after exams. When Ryan punches a foul-talking man insulting his friend, Gloria, it is the first time Ryan is touching a man in months. And it is not how he envisioned this touch would initiate or feel. In a community that determines masculinity by physical prowess, dominance and attractiveness to women, Ryan is exploring himself, finally, as a gay man navigating the discovery and avoidance of his own emotional, social and bodily needs.
Ryan’s story is one of intersectional journey not often shared. His story opens with a bar fight then flashes back to a childhood hell—ridiculed and beaten by school bullies regardless of community, judged by family, judged by self and what he “should” be. The depth of Conn’s sensitivity is immersive with detailed intricacies of Ryan’s first gay bar, his first touch from another man, his confusion of needing and avoiding the simple act of intimacy. Ryan’s story is both heart-wrenching and immersive.
Conn makes no excuses for toxic masculinity in American Men. Rather, he views masculinity in its many forms—toxic, empathetic, intersectional and more—through the lens of a caring father hoping for a better future in which his son might thrive as a caring, empathetic ally to not only women but also the men who hide their emotional selves, their true selves, as Conn posits, conditioned in systemic toxicity. When so many toxic male influencers are desperate to blame women for their failed relationships and careers and educations and so on, Conn does not. Instead, Conn offers transparent portraits of men where they are.
In “Ryan” this reader can feel the possibility for change through self-truths and actualizations. Conn seems to be saying that this change is there for all men if they are willing to dig inside and find it and open themselves to it. He sees this for his son. My son. And yours. As a woman, a mother, a daughter, a survivor, this gives me a sense of hope in a socio-political time that offers little.
American Men is a beautifully rendered portraiture of four men from diverse communities in intimate detail. Highly recommended.
About Jordan Ritter Conn
Jordan Ritter Conn is the author of The Road From Raqqa: A Story of Brotherhood, Borders, and Belonging, runner-up for the 2021 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. He is a Senior Staff Writer for The Ringer and the host of the narrative podcasts What If: The Len Bias Story and Sonic Boom, named by The Atlantic as one of the best podcasts of 2019. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with his family.About Hachette Book Group
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading US general-interest book publisher made up of dozens of esteemed imprints within the publishing groups Basic Books Group; Grand Central Publishing Group; Hachette Audio; Little, Brown and Company; Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Orbit; and Workman Running Press Group. We also provide custom distribution, fulfillment, and sales services to other publishing companies. Our books and authors have received the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Caldecott Medal, Newbery Medal, Booker Prize, Nobel Peace Prize, James Beard Award, and other major honors.
