"Conversations and Cosmopolitans" is a really great read!

A few weeks back at the TV Academy's terrific "Ugly Betty" event, I spotted Marc Malkin who I had never met but whose column, Planet Gossip, I enjoy and quote from sometimes. Marc introduced me to his writer friend, Robert Rave, and I sat with them during the evening and had a great time.
Robert (pictured) mentioned a book he had written with his mother called "Conversations and Cosmopolitans (How to Give Your Mother a Hangover)" and I asked him to send me a copy. Got it in the mail a few days ago and started reading it last night. I'm about two-thirds through but thought if I don't post about it now, how am I going to let you know in time that this is the PERFECT MOTHER'S DAY GIFT! It is so special, so full of wit and honesty.
Robert Rave and his mother, Jane Rave, alternate chapters in a book that covers a diverse range of subjects starting with the coming out letter that Robert sent to his parents after he moved to New York. His mother refers to it still as "the gay letter." The letter is reprinted, typos and all, in the book and it just tears your heart out to read the thoughts and fears of this then-21-year-old kid who loved his parents so much. So while you feel the emotion of it, you get to laugh because as he waits for his parents to respond, he goes to a Gambler's Anonymous meeting (he's not a gambler) because he needs a distraction.
Life goes on and it is so amusing this Weight Watchers thing that Robert begins to share with his mom when he accompanies her to a meeting during a trip home. I also LOVED the chapter about whether or not men should wax. The conversations are priceless and Robert has a real gift for recounting them here. What most gay men are looking for in a potential mate is covered but I have yet to get there in the book and I also look forward to reading about Jane Rave's "M'Lynn moment," based on Sally Field's character in "Steel Magnolias" when she lashes out at her friends in a fit of despair. Remember when Sally Field is at the cemetary and screams out: "I'm fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!"
Mostly, this is a book about how empowering (and fun) it is to live the truth.
Check out the Conversations and Cosmopolitans site for more information and links that make it easy for you to order the book.
It's a gem!