Jamie Brickhouse's memoir, DANGEROUS WHEN WET, shares the story of his difficulties, pain and obstacles in getting sober and of his complicated relationship with his mother, Mama Jean. The obituary for Jean Brickhouse described her as “a force of nature,” with a “dynamic personality, irreverent sense of humor, generosity and deep appreciation of family and friends.” While all that seems to be true, there was also a fierceness, sense of judgment and strong will in her that made it hard for him, at times, to assert a healthy independence. That tension underpins DANGEROUS WHEN WET, which is also graphically honest, funny and occasionally heartbreaking.

Even as a small boy, Brickhouse felt both burdened by his mother's expectations and thrilled by her attention. The youngest of three boys, and the only son from his parents’ marriage, he was doted on and coddled by Jean, a flamboyant and smart southern belle. Growing up in Beaumont, Texas, Brickhouse was his mother's red-headed prince, her “Lord Randall.” They shared a love of classic Hollywood movies and fashion, and both had a flair for the dramatic.

"Ribald storytelling mixes with traditional familial themes, resulting in an entertaining, bittersweet and poignant debut."

Though Mama Jean seemed to have an uneasiness about homosexuality, she was supportive, though concerned, when he came out to her during his first year in college. Her worst fear, that he would contract HIV, was realized, though she probably never knew it to be true. Instead, it was his drinking and ultimately his suicide attempt that worried her the most and brought her to his bedside as he detoxed and headed to rehab. His recovery was slow, and he relapsed several times. But, finally, Brickhouse did get sober; in his sobriety, he was able to spend time with Mama Jean as she died from the progressive Lewy body dementia.

After Mama Jean's death, and finally sober for a sustained period of time, Brickhouse worked through his feelings for and memories about her in writing. Mama Jean always thought he should be a writer, and in a final irony, DANGEROUS WHEN WET, his first book, centers on her. He writes about his transformation into what his mother always wanted him to be, after so many years of both struggling against her expectations and rushing to meet them, with a tenderness not present in other parts of the book. In detailing his new identity as a writer, the bawdy humor and self-deprecation fall away and revealed is the thoughtful person Mama Jean always knew her son to be.

The explicit nature of Brickhouse's tale may not be for every reader, but it is worthwhile reading about his exploits as they express his struggles with alcohol, drugs, and fidelity to his partner of many years.

At first glance, DANGEROUS WHEN WET is a campy and hilarious account of a man driven by lusts and desires. But the hilarity is just the vehicle for the serious story that Brickhouse tells: that of a son and a partner growing up, getting clean, and facing the expectations of others as well as his own dreams for himself. Ribald storytelling mixes with traditional familial themes, resulting in an entertaining, bittersweet and poignant debut.