The Tricky Part

A Boy’s Story of Sexual Trespass, A Man’s Journey to Forgiveness

By: Martin Moran

Narrated by: Martin Moran

Raised in a loving Catholic family in Denver, Martin Moran was a star student who imagined that he’d one day become a U.S. senator. When he was twelve years old, a camp counselor seduced him, initiating a sexual relationship that would last three years - and haunt Moran’s life for decades. He discovered a passion for acting and built a career that would take him to Broadway, but only when Moran finally tracked down and confronted his abuser thirty years later could he finally forgive himself for someone’s else trespass.

Funny and tender about growing up Catholic and gay, The Tricky Part never oversimplifies either the abuse or the vexing work of recovering from it. This powerful story carries us to the heart of a paradox: that what we think of as damage may be the very thing that gives rise to transformation, even grace.

©2005 Martin Moran (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Brave Memoir of Abuse and Forgiveness

This book is uncomfortable and tense, but brilliant and brave. Moran struggles with his religious upbringing, his sexual abuse, and the conflict of coming out homosexual as an adult. How did one affect the other?

Moran gets to confront his abuser, face to face. I can't believe how courageous he was to do that. What do you say after thirty years? I was astounded at his abuser's reaction to the confrontation. He had no idea how much he changed Moran's life.

Remarkably honest

I’ve read other books on this subject in memoir and fiction. I feel that Michael Moran committed himself to writing an honest story about his childhood and adult life. He described each part as it was lived, as he experienced it. He didn’t layer over an adult narrative onto a boy’s story. Nor does he shy away from revisiting what happened to him through an adult lens. You go through this with him. I’m very glad I read it, and that I did so as an audiobook. His reading of his story should not be missed. He is an excellent narrator and has a beautiful, mellifluous reading voice.

Strongest in the Broken Places

If you could sum up The Tricky Part in three words, what would they be?

hug your kids

What other book might you compare The Tricky Part to and why?

Look me in the Eye by John Elder Robinson -- two books by people living fates most people cringe to even hear about, and they both do so telling all of us that their lives are worth hearing, worth living, and important to the human story.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene where Rob was bragging about how well he cared for his daughter was a raw punch in the stomach. I can only imagine the book that is inside the mind of the daughter, and I sincerely hope she writes that book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I had intended to listen a few hours a day. I ended up listening until almost dawn; I had to find out how the story turned out. Then, next day, I read it again. It's that kind of book.

Any additional comments?

This book is a spiral, the narrative begins and ends in the same moment in the author's time. However, by the time we return to the same scene the meaning of the same events is different, we have gone through a journey of understanding together.

Deeply moving story.

I was very moved by this story and felt for this man and what he had been through. I went through a very hard time in my life a few years back and I still feel that I have not gotten over it. I listen to personal memoirs where there is a lot of pain in the authors life to show myself that people have gone through a hell of a lot worse than I have and can still make it in life. I was amazed that the author could still laugh a little during some parts of the story. You could tell he was remembering that part of his life when he laughed, it was a natural laugh and was not part of the script. Stories like this give me hope for the future and I am grateful to the author for sharing his story.