Dangerous When Wet: Book summary and reviews of Dangerous When Wet by Jamie Brickhouse

Dangerous When Wet

A Memoir

by Jamie Brickhouse

Dangerous When Wet by Jamie Brickhouse X
Dangerous When Wet by Jamie Brickhouse
Buy This Book

About this book

Book Summary

"A blisteringly funny, wrenching account of wrestling way too close to - and later loose from - booze, sex and drugs and his adorable, infuriating mother. Bravo!" —Mary Karr, New York Times bestselling author of The Liars' Club 

"Whoever said you can't get sober for someone else never met my mother, Mama Jean. When I came to in a Manhattan emergency room after an overdose to the news that she was on her way from Texas, I panicked. She was the last person I wanted to see on that dark September morning, but the person I needed the most."

So begins this astonishing memoir - by turns both darkly comic and deeply poignant - about this native Texan's long struggle with alcohol, his complicated relationship with Mama Jean, and his sexuality. From the age of five all Brickhouse wanted was to be at a party with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other and all Mama Jean wanted was to keep him at that age, her Jamie doll forever. A Texan Elizabeth Taylor with the split personality of Auntie Mame and Mama Rose, always camera-ready and flamboyantly outspoken, Mama Jean haunted him his whole life, no matter how far away he went or how deep in booze he swam.

Brickhouse's journey takes him from Texas to a high-profile career in book publishing amid New York's glamorous drinking life to his near-fatal descent into alcoholism. After Mama Jean ushers him into rehab and he ultimately begins to dig out of the hole he'd found himself in, he almost misses his chance to prove that he loves her as much as she loves him. Bitingly funny, raw, and insightful, Dangerous When Wet is the unforgettable story of a unique relationship between a son and his mother.

About the Author
Jamie Brickhouse has been published in The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, Lambda Literary Review, The Fix, Addiction/Recovery eBulletin, and the Latin American travel magazine Travesía. He is also a guest blogger for the Huffington Post. Brickhouse spent over two decades in the publishing industry, most recently at two major houses as head of their publicity and lecture divisions. He has also performed stand-up comedy and recorded voice-overs for the legendary cartoon TV show, Beavis and Butthead. A native of Beaumont, Texas, Brickhouse lives in Manhattan with his partner, Michael. Visit him at jamiebrickhouse.com

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Unabashedly campy but always candid." - Kirkus

"Jamie Brickhouse has written a blisteringly funny, wrenching account of wrestling way too close to - and later loose from - booze, sex and drugs and his adorable, infuriating mother….Bravo - the first of many from Brickhouse." - Mary Karr, New York Times bestselling author of The Liars' Club"

"... Dangerous When Wet is far more than a witty chronicle of gin-soaked debauchery. It is, more importantly, a poignant, hilarious, and sharply observed story of a gay man's exchange of self-destruction and self-loathing for wisdom and a mature understanding of love. Move over, Augusten Burroughs. You've got company." - Wally Lamb, New York Times bestselling author of We Are Water

"Under Mama Jean's tutelage, Jamie also came to appreciate the joys, and dangers, of a champagne cocktail. In exploring family uproar, the Holly Golightly allure of Manhattan, and the free fall of alcoholism, Jamie creates a literary cocktail all his own: witty, blisteringly honest and wickedly intoxicating." - Paul Rudnick, playwright, author, and New Yorker humorist

"Brickhouse's memoir is as revealing as it is riotous ... a dark journey studded with gems of hilarity." - Josh Kilmer-Purcell, co-star of The Fabulous Beekman Boys, and author of I Am Not Myself These Days

"Jamie Brickhouse has seen the darkness, and emerged a happier, stronger person. His book is sensitive and thoughtful, tinged with hilarity and heartbreak, and as bubbly as a champagne flute of Asti Spumante. Drink it." —Henry Alford, Humorist, author of Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?, and columnist for The New York Times

"Jamie Brickhouse serves up a riotous, rollicking memoir that, ultimately, is as sweet as it is outrageous." - Neil White, author of In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

"Jamie Brickhouse's flame-red hair may have faded, but his no-holds-barred account of his fairy-tale life gone bad sets the pages of Dangerous When Wet on fire." - Eric Marcus, author of Why Suicide?

This information about Dangerous When Wet was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own review

Colleen P. (Floresville, TX)

Dangerous When Wet is a HIT!
Mama Jean is unforgettable and definitely the best character in the book next to the author. Her unflappable attitude when dealing with divorce, raising three boys pretty much on her own, and dealing with the 'coming out' of one of her son's is one of the highlights of this book. Then there's the author dealing with this from his perspective, cutting no corners, letting us in on all the nitty gritty episodes that shaped his life. This is a book that is going on my favorites shelf.

Eileen L. (Danvers, MA)

Funny yet heartbreaking
I love this book! All the characters are so well developed and the story line rings so true. The dynamic between Mama Jean and her son, and everyone else in her world, is thoroughly enjoyable and the highlight of the book for me. Jaime is a well defined, tragic yet endearing soul struggling to find his way and that combination makes this story irresistible. Great read

Sheila B. (Danvers, MA)

Dangerous when wet...and laughing...and crying
I really enjoyed reading Jamie Brickhouse's love letter to his two favorite things in the world -- his mother and alcohol. Mama Jean was a force to be reckoned with who loved fiercely. Every time I put the book down, I went back to read "just one more chapter." Being approximately the same age as Jamie, I understood the world in which he existed. I laughed out loud, and cried. I recently lost my brother to a form of dementia. Mama Jean's story will bring awareness to this little known horrific disease. It was a satisfying read that hit just about every emotion.

Rosemary C. (Austin, TX)

Intense, humorous and heartwarming
I don't easily give 5 star ratings to books, but Jamie Brickhouse has earned one with this book. He can really write, and he has an epic story to tell of his path to hedonism-laced alcoholism and his winding road to redemption. I'm glad he made it back and realized his abilities as a writer. He shows a great deal of insight into the reasons for his life choices, and he vividly brings to life those who impacted him, including the bigger than life Mama Jean. I appreciate his forthrightness and vulnerability and am grateful he has shared his powerful story. Bravo!

Liz B. (Fairview, TX)

What a Ride!
This memoir of a young gay man's struggle with multiple addictions kept me intrigued to the end. It's a psychological self-study of the downward spiral he faced, while keeping readers both entertained and heart-broken with his decisions in life. Mama Jean was a larger-than-life mother figure who loved Jamie to the end but may have done unintentional harm with her undying devotion. I really enjoyed this book and wish Jamie much success in his future endeavors.

Daryl B. (Poolesville, MD)

Dangerous When Wet
I really liked this book. The story of a gay man's love affair with alcohol and his larger than life "Mama Jean" made for a hilariously heart rending read. Jamie seemed to have been born with his attraction to drinking. It started at such a young age. He was blessed with loving parents and many friends that loved him. I'm not sure I would recommend this for my book club as it may be a bit graphic for some members. That being said, it was a story I really enjoyed.

...11 more reader reviews

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Recommendations

Readers Also Browsed . . .

more biography/memoir...

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $45 for 12 months or $15 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Become a Member

Join BookBrowse today to start discovering exceptional books!

Find out more


Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Red Memory
    Red Memory
    by Tania Branigan
    Tania Branigan's Red Memory is an astounding and often harrowing study of Mao's China. A lead writer...
  • Book Jacket: The Postcard
    The Postcard
    by Anne Berest
    Anne Berest's The Postcard — with an elegant translation from the French by Tina Cover &...
  • Book Jacket
    Elektra
    by Jennifer Saint
    Few cultures in history mastered the art of tragedy quite like the ancient Greeks. And very few ...
  • Book Jacket: Salvage This World
    Salvage This World
    by Michael Farris Smith
    In the near-future universe of Michael Farris Smith's Salvage This World, life-threatening ...

Book Club Discussion

Book Jacket
The First Conspiracy
by Brad Meltzer & Josh Mensch
A remarkable and previously untold piece of American history—the secret plot to kill George Washington

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    The Little Italian Hotel
    by Phaedra Patrick

    Sunny, tender and brimming with charm, The Little Italian Hotel explores marriage, identity and reclaiming the present moment.

Win This Book
Win Girlfriend on Mars

30 Copies to Give Away!

A funny and poignant debut novel that skewers billionaire-funded space travel in a love story of interplanetary proportions.

Enter

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Y S M Back A I'll S Y

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.