All the Young Men Post Two

 All the Young Men: Post Two


All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks follows Ruth's journey as she navigates love and loss through the AIDS epidemic in the south. Ruth gets pulled into taking care of a man with AIDS by chance when she is at the hospital visiting her friend. From there, more and more people come to her for help as they or their loved ones deal with the side effects of the virus. While financially struggling, she tries to take care of these men--finding them housing, diving into dumpsters to get them food, and finding them jobs. She also works to take care of her daughter as they are effectively ostracized from their community and looked down upon for their compassion and efforts. You get to experience the relationships she develops with the men she helps from her point of view, and because of this, are able to feel (just a fraction of) the loss she felt when they are eventually gone in the story of her life. 


I mainly think this book taught me the power of human connection and developing relationships. Ruth helped men she had never met before without question, just in the name of being a good person. No matter how much she and her daughter were struggling, she always took time out of her day to help others who had it worse than her, which I find to be rather inspiring--especially since she was regularly being threatened, both physically and in regard to her social standing in a community built on popularity. However, I think the most impactful thing for me was the development of her relationships. She formed an ever-rotating found-family that she used to learn and grow as a person. I think it is an important lesson, and my biggest takeaway from All the Young Men, to develop relationships that can help you develop as an individual. 


While I do not typically enjoy reading nonfiction or memoirs, I found this book to be gripping. The sheer amount of relationships she develops means that a lot of information is presented as a conversation, rather than large paragraphs of technical terms. This was really helpful in multiple instances since some of the information that you learn as a reader can be somewhat scientific. The conversational tone made it much easier to understand and kept me reading without getting bored in the middle of chapters.


Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2022 at 4:57 PM

    Hi Sam,

    This book was my second option and I really enjoyed hearing everyone talk about it in class. Similar to the memoir I read, I love reading about human connection and. forming strong relationships with others. One thing I enjoyed that you wrote was relationships to help us develop as individuals. This is striking because as she was helping other people, she also helped herself in the process. I agree with you that these relationships are the most beneficial in life and I really liked that touch to your post.

    -Zoë

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2022 at 5:43 PM

    Samantha,

    This is now the second response I have read to All the Young Men and I will tell you, I am very inspired to read it. Relationships are tricky. I love your take that people should strive to develop relationships that help them grow as an individual as well. Whenever I find my partner, I truly hope that we have fostered a relationship where we both push each other to grow. Thank you for another extremely real response. I will carry it with me.

    Thank you so much,

    Mason

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brooke HillFebruary 18, 2022 at 11:58 PM

    Hey Sam,

    After reading your post, I kinda wish I read All the Young Men. Your post explained the book really well. I felt how emotional her story must have been. I also was impressed by your takeaways! Thinking about how relationships can positively affect me as an individual was something I hadn't thought of. Love the post!

    Best,

    Brooke

    ReplyDelete
  4. eokeeffeFebruary 19, 2022 at 2:23 PM

    Hello Samantha,

    I also read this book and I agree that the relationships that she builds throughout the story are the most powerful and emotional takeaways. It wasn't just her caring for sick people but they also offered her and her daughter new perspectives on life, solidarity, and love that helped them grow into the people that they are.

    Ethan

    ReplyDelete
  5. Leon Hua 340February 19, 2022 at 10:37 PM

    Hey Samantha,

    Really enjoyed your blog post! After reading your post I'm intrigued and want to read the memoir for myself. I appreciate your takeaway from the memoir that your relationships can change and develop who you are fundamentally as a person. It really holds true, in my experience. Also glad that you found this non-fiction/memoir literature enjoyable! I've found that memoirs often can read like novels/fiction, so the dialogue in the memoir probably made it more digestible.

    -Leon

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lesley 340February 21, 2022 at 4:19 PM

    Hi Samantha,

    I love your takeaway of "developing relationships that can help you develop as an individual." I've seen this show up so much in my life recently. One of my biggest value in friendship is having people around me that push me to better, whether they do that by calling me out or encouraging me. I'm definitely adding All the Young Men to my reading list.

    Best,

    Lesley

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousFebruary 21, 2022 at 4:42 PM

    Hey Samantha,

    After reading your post, I'm definitely going to add this book to my list. It sounds like Ruth did some amazing work. Not only donating her time and life to help others, but also to be willing to accept that pain and loss is admirable. Your takeaway is good. I can only imagine the growth she must have undergone internally after doing this all these years.

    Kevin

    ReplyDelete

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