Category: Adults, Autobiography & Biographies, Misc. Non-fiction
Language: EnglishKeywords: Essays Queer
Written by Edgar Gomez
Read by Edgar Gomez
Format: M4B
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged
âEdgar Gomez is a young writer of deep talent and enormous grace.ââJames McBride, New York Times bestselling author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: Today, The Millions, Paste
In Florida, one of the first things youâre taught as a child is that if youâre ever chased by a wild alligator, the only way to save yourself is to run away in zigzags. Itâs a lesson on survival that has guided much of Edgar Gomezâs life.
Like the night his mother had a stroke while he and his brother stood frozen at the foot of her bed, afraid sheâd be angry if they called for an ambulance they couldnât afford. Gomez escaped into his mind, where he could tell himself nothing was wrong with his family. Zig. Or years later, as a broke college student, he got on his knees to put sandals on touristsâ smelly, swollen feet for minimum wage at the Flip Flop Shop. After clocking out, his crew of working-class, queer, Latinx friends changed out of their uniforms in the passenger seats of each otherâs cars, speeding toward the relief they found at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Zag. From committing a little bankruptcy fraud for the money for veneers to those days he paid his phone bill by giving massages to closeted men on vacation, back when he and his friends would Venmo each other the same emergency twenty dollars over and over. Zig. Zag. Gomez survived this way as long as his legs would carry him.
Alligator Tears is a fiercely defiant memoir-in-essays charting Gomezâs quest to claw his family out of poverty by any means necessary and exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is: a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a prize that will always be out of reach. For those chasing the American Dream and those jaded by it, Gomezâs unforgettable story is a testament to finding love, purpose, and community on your own terms, smiling with all your fake teeth.
Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 02-11-25
âEdgar Gomez is a young writer of deep talent and enormous grace.ââJames McBride, New York Times bestselling author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR: Today, The Millions, Paste
In Florida, one of the first things youâre taught as a child is that if youâre ever chased by a wild alligator, the only way to save yourself is to run away in zigzags. Itâs a lesson on survival that has guided much of Edgar Gomezâs life.
Like the night his mother had a stroke while he and his brother stood frozen at the foot of her bed, afraid sheâd be angry if they called for an ambulance they couldnât afford. Gomez escaped into his mind, where he could tell himself nothing was wrong with his family. Zig. Or years later, as a broke college student, he got on his knees to put sandals on touristsâ smelly, swollen feet for minimum wage at the Flip Flop Shop. After clocking out, his crew of working-class, queer, Latinx friends changed out of their uniforms in the passenger seats of each otherâs cars, speeding toward the relief they found at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Zag. From committing a little bankruptcy fraud for the money for veneers to those days he paid his phone bill by giving massages to closeted men on vacation, back when he and his friends would Venmo each other the same emergency twenty dollars over and over. Zig. Zag. Gomez survived this way as long as his legs would carry him.
Alligator Tears is a fiercely defiant memoir-in-essays charting Gomezâs quest to claw his family out of poverty by any means necessary and exposing the archetype of the humble poor person for what it is: a scam that insists we remain quiet and servile while we wait for a prize that will always be out of reach. For those chasing the American Dream and those jaded by it, Gomezâs unforgettable story is a testament to finding love, purpose, and community on your own terms, smiling with all your fake teeth.
Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 02-11-25