
[BONUS] Jen Hatmaker Book Club ft. Here for It by R. Eric Thomas
About this episode
Bestselling author, R. Eric Thomas, wrote “Here for It” in 2020 and it continues to reverberate in the hearts and minds of readers because of its timely topics and riveting personal story—making it a perfect “revisit” for our book club community! With humor and vulnerability, Eric shares about his memoir which is equal parts hilarity and heart–and what it took to write about his intersecting identities as a Black, queer, Christian man.
Join Jen and Eric as they traverse transforming the ordinary into the profoundly funny and insightful.
Book Summary:
In his memoir of essays “Here for It,” Eric attempts to define what it means to be an “other” through his experience growing up in two very different worlds — the urban landscape of his parents home in Baltimore and then the wealthy, white suburb where he went to private school. He tries to figure out how to reconcile all of this, not just these two wildly different racial and class spaces, but also his Christian upbringing with his sexuality as a gay man; the exhaustion of code switching; accidentally finding internet fame; covering the 2016 election and all of that aftermath. Ultimately, he is seeking to answer whether the future is worth it when everything seems to be getting worse. He re-envisions what could be by placing himself at the center of his own story and sharing his experiences with us.
* * *
Guest’s Links:
R. Eric Thomas’s Website - https://rericthomas.com/
R. Eric Thomas’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/oureric/
R. Eric Thomas’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/oureric
R. Eric Thomas’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/R.Eric.T/
Books & Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Here for It or How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas - https://bit.ly/3KFKdTV
The Preacher’s Wife - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Preacher%27s_Wife
Congratulations, The Best Is Over by R. Eric Thomas - https://bit.ly/3RdAY1E
Kings of Baltimore by R. Eric Thomas - https://bit.ly/3PxKvQ4
Dickinson (TV Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8518136/
Better Things (TV Series) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4370596/
The Moth - https://bit.ly/3Vl3YFb
Andre DeShields - https://www.andredeshields.com/
Clue (The 1985 Movie) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clue_(film)
Amy Dickinson - https://amydickinson.com/
R. Eric Thomas’s Here For It News Letter - https://letter.rericthomas.com/
Maxine Waters - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxine_Waters
Ann Patchett - http://www.annpatchett.com/
Festival of Homiletics - https://festivalofhomiletics.com/
Connect with Jen!
...Get every episode summarized
Each time For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast

Encore: Barbara Brown Taylor on Being the Saint of Small Things
For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast

Priya Parker on Fighting Well, and Why Conflict Is Not Sin
For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast

Adrienne Brodeur on Family Myths, Wounded People, and Honest Fiction
For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast

Your Life Is the Assignment: Jen Hatmaker Solo Episode
For The Love With Jen Hatmaker Podcast