A powerful coming-of-age memoir that reimagines masculinity for the twenty-first-century.
In one of his most compelling spoken-word poems, Gómez recounts a confrontation he once had after accidentally bumping into another man at a nightclub. Just as they were about to fight, Gómez’s eyes inexplicably welled up with tears. Everyone at the scene jumped back, as if showing vulnerability was the most jarring thing that Gómez could possibly have done.
Like many men in our society, Gómez grew up believing that he should be ready to fight at all times, treat women as objects, and close off his emotional self. It wasn’t until he discovered acting that he began to realize the true cost of squelching one’s emotions—and how aggression dominates everything that young males are taught.
Plummeting graduation and employment rates and dire teen suicide statistics show that young men are at a crisis point. Gómez seeks to reverse these alarming trends by sharing lessons about life, love, and vulnerability. Man Up galvanizes all of us to rethink the way men interact with women, deal with violence, handle fear, and express emotion.
Gómez urges men of all ages to break society’s rules of male conformity and reconsider not just what it means to be a man, but what it means to be a good man.
“Man Up” is available now through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Indiebound, Penguin Random House and iTunes!
Recent Articles
I’m on the cover of the latest The Pith Journal!
25 years ago, today, I helped found The Excelano Project
Upon returning from Dubai and being a part of the 2026 Emirates Literature Festival
“Patrilineation” has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Alta California Chapbook Prize!!!
