The coming-of-age story of Philbet, a gay, physically misshapen boy in rural Georgia, who battles bullying, ignorance, and disdain as he makes his way in life as an outsider – before finding acceptance in unlikely places.
The coming-of-age story of Philbet, a gay, physically misshapen boy in rural Georgia, who battles bullying, ignorance, and disdain as he makes his way in life as an outsider – before finding acceptance in unlikely places.
“The South kicks its feet up and gets down to business telling this tale through the lens of Philbet, a young boy growing up sweet, gay, disfigured, and defying social norms. The grace he extends toward his … often cruel beloved makes him an endearing and poetic narrator. This story poked at all the tender spots inside me and reminded me of what was real and important and wisely dusted off for daily use from those growing up days.”
Kimberly Brock
author, The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare
A portion of all book proceeds are donated to the
Born This Way Foundation and the The Trevor Project.
“When moist, it had the texture of silken butter, but when the beating Georgia sun leached it of moisture, it was either hard or powdery, slippery even in the heat, feeling almost liquid against skin. That was the alchemy of red clay.”
“When moist, it had the texture of silken butter, but when the beating Georgia sun leached it of moisture, it was either hard or powdery, slippery even in the heat, feeling almost liquid against skin. That was the alchemy of red clay.”
"The only way was to caress their painted skin, running my finger along the curve of a chromed bumper or the loop of a door handle, letting the car know that I wanted to give it the gift of my cool hand during a Georgia-hot summer afternoon."
Learn where Jeffrey will be signing books and doing readings.
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Jeffrey Dale Lofton hails from Warm Springs, Georgia, but calls the nation’s capital home now. He came to Washington for an acting job and stayed, spending many a night trodding the boards of DC’s theaters and performing arts centers. He even scored a few television screen appearances, including a residuals-rich Super Bowl halftime commercial, which his accountant quipped “is the finest work of your career.”
Ultimately he stepped away from acting, keen to use his stage-and-screen-performer’s deep understanding of the art of storytelling in a different way. Soon, he was providing communications counsel to some of the nation’s leading landscape architects, as together they described the wonders of a garden well-planned. Next, he worked closely with military veterans, helping them tell their stories of war-torn life in service to their country. Today, he is a senior advisor at the Library of Congress, surrounded by books and people who love books—in short, paradise.
The South kicks its feet up and gets down to business telling this tale through the lens of Philbet, a young boy growing up sweet, gay, disfigured, and defying social norms. The grace he extends toward his ... often cruel beloved makes him an endearing and poetic narrator. This story poked at all the tender spots inside me and reminded me of what was real and important and wisely dusted off for daily use from those growing up days.
Kimberly Brock author, The Lost Book of Eleanor Dare