Just by Looking at Him, Ryan OConnell
Just by Looking at Him, Ryan OConnell
4 Rating(s)
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Just by Looking at Him

Author: Ryan O'Connell

Narrator: Ryan O'Connell

Unabridged: 6 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/07/2022


Synopsis

From the star of Peacock’s Queer as Folk and the Netflix series Special comes a “funny, tender, and beautiful” (Gary Janetti, New York Times bestselling author) novel following a gay TV writer with cerebral palsy as he fights addiction and searches for acceptance in an overwhelmingly ableist world.

Elliott appears to be living the dream as a successful TV writer with a doting boyfriend. But behind his Instagram filter of a life, he’s grappling with an intensifying alcohol addiction, he can’t seem to stop cheating on his boyfriend with various sex workers, and his cerebral palsy is making him feel like gay Shrek.

After falling down a rabbit hole of sex, drinking, and Hollywood backstabbing, Elliott decides to limp his way towards redemption. But facing your demons is easier said than done.

“With his singular voice and unforgettable wit” (Steven Rowley, author of The Guncle), Ryan O’Connell presents a candid, biting, and refreshingly real commentary on gay life, laugh-out-loud exploration of self, and a rare insight into life as a person with disabilities.

About Ryan O'Connell

Ryan O’Connell is the Emmy-nominated creator, writer, and star of Netflix’s Special, which is based on his memoir, I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves. He’s also written for other TV shows like Will & GraceAwkward, and Peacock’s Queer as Folk revival, which he also stars in. He lives, laughs, and loves in Los Angeles with his partner, Jonathan Parks-Ramage. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Roxane

This novel has a unique point of view— a disabled gay man who basically blows up his life trying to figure out how to be. O’Connell is wildly funny, witty, smart. The novel is brash and Elliott, the protagonist is almost obsessively drawn. We know everything there is to know about him. Loves his rel......more

I picked this one off the Goodreads June Pride list of 72 books. Happily, it was on Net Galley, so I snagged an early copy. This novel seemed different to me. It centers around Elliott, a 30ish gay man living with a mild case of cerebral palsy. He is working as a television comedy writer. We follow......more

Goodreads review by Dennis

If you're a fan of Ryan O'Connell's Netflix series Special, you will absolutely love his upcoming novel, Just By Looking at Him! I read this book in two sittings, and my dark circles are here to prove it! Seriously, I just couldn't go to sleep until I finished this one! The story is centered arou......more