No Son of Mine

A Memoir

By: Jonathan Corcoran

Narrated by: Christopher P. Brown

Jonathan Corcoran was the youngest and only son of three siblings in a family balanced on the precipice of poverty. His mother, a traditional, evangelical, and insular woman who had survived abuse and abandonment, was often his only ally. Together, they navigated a strained home life dominated by his distant, gambling-addicted father, and shared a seemingly unbreakable bond.

When Corcoran left home to attend Brown University, a chasm between his upbringing and his reality began to open. As his horizons and experiences expanded, he met the upper-middle-class Jewish man who would become his husband. But this authentic life would not be easy, and Corcoran was forever changed when his mother disowned him after discovering his truth. In the ensuing fifteen years, the two would come together only to violently spring apart. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged in 2020, the cycle finally ended when he received the news that his mother had died.

In No Son of Mine, Corcoran traces his messy estrangement from his mother through lost geographies as well as the lost relationships with friends and family and the sense of home that were stripped away when she said he was no longer her son. Through grief, anger, questioning, and growth, Corcoran explores the entwined yet separate histories and identities of his mother and himself.

©2024 Jonathan Corcoran (P)2024 Tantor

So my life... So very sad...

The story was a tender reflection on a mother that tried her best to love her son while hating who he was as a gay person. It's relatable as so many of us have been in this same battle. I was sad and satisfied listening to this. Somewhere between enjoyment and despair.

A raw, painful, and real story about trauma and the pain of abandonment

I listened to this story over two days- it pulled me in that much. As much as the writing and story telling keeps your attention, this should not discount the pain and vulnerability involved.

An examination of being abandoned by those who are supposed to love you the most and the story of finding yourself anyway.