Conversations and Cosmopolitans: How to Give Your Mother a Hangover

There are few bonds tighter than those shared between a mother and her son. For many, it is a solid, unbreakable bond; one that no person, place or thing could ever asunder. It is a love unconditional… or is it?

From the moment author Jane Rave received her son Robert’s momentous letter announcing he was gay, both their lives changed.

The boy Jane thought she knew was instantly gone, swept away, along with her dreams of grandchildren and the Norman Rockwell life she had envisioned for her son. In his place stood a man who looked the same, spoke the same, even acted the same as the boy she had raised– but he wasn’t the same. He was a virtual stranger that Jane would have to learn to love all over again. But could she?

For 24 year-old Robert, life too, would never be the same. His secret was one he had hoped would remain neatly hidden under the rug his whole life. But now it was out and life was unraveling. The burden of secrecy may have been lifted, but it was replaced with the very real fear that his mother might not be able to love him the same way again.

Conversations and Cosmopolitans is the true story of a son and his mom as they experience getting to know each other all over again. In poignant and often-times hilarious conversations and letters from debut authors, Robert and Jane Rave, readers witness their sometimes bizarre, but always entertaining, codependent relationship from each of their perspectives.

Weathering through one of the hardest and most confusing times in both of their lives, mother and son tackle compelling issues such as love, dating, sexuality, body image, and identity. They discuss “point-if-ication,” being brainwashed into counting everything you eat and putting it into a point system; “me but Latin,” what most gay men are looking for in a potential mate; and an “M’Lynn moment,” based on Sally Field’s character in Steel Magnolias who lashes out at her friends in a fit of despair. They argue over whether a man should wax. They join Weight Watchers. Through laughter and tears, mother and son learn the power of living in the truth.

Releasing to bookstores in October, in time for National Coming Out Day (October 11, 2006), Conversations and Cosmopolitans is a non-traditional family relationship guide, offering surprising perspectives and universal lessons for all families who may be facing some of the same life-changing issues.