FREE ESSAY ON THIS WORLD WERE MINE BY E. LYNN HARRIS

THIS WORLD WERE MINE BY E. LYNN HARRIS

In the hilarious just keepin' it real style novel, If This World Were Mine, by E. Lynn
Harris, a group of friends decide to start a journal club, like they did back in their
college English class. This story is told by each and all takes place in the 90's around
the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Sometimes it is easier to put your thoughts on paper rather than express them out loud. A
group of college friends decides to restart their journal club called, If This World Were
Mine. The group includes Yolanda, single, independent, and not looking for a man. She was
once married, but her husband wanted to travel, while she was ready to be stable. Then
there's Dr. Leland Thompson, gay and single. Riley Woodson, the epidimy of beauty. She's
married to her college sweetheart Selwyn, who is also a member of the journal club, and
they have a set of twins', Ryan and Reginald. Dwight Leon Scott is also a member he is
divorced and mad at the world. He was married to Kelli, a former member of the group. She
left because Dwight wouldn't. The group has monthly meetings where they eat, drink, and
read and discuss their journals. Each member of the group always brings something to read
to the meeting, but they never read what is really going on in their lives. They all feel
like they have to impress the other members, which defeats the whole purpose of the
journal club.
The climax of the story begins when Leland's client, Taylor Wilson called and asked to
have an emergency meeting. After Leland's secretary scheduled the meeting and Taylor made
it to the office, he began to tell Leland what was going on. At the same time Yolanda was
in New York handling some business and also visiting John, her new guy friend. One day
she went to John's apartment on surprise and got a bigger surprise than she expected.
While back in Chicago, Taylor was still talking with Leland about the man he saw that he
had met back in the days when he was a family court judge. They had an affair and caused
him to divorce his wife and leave his kids and career. Taylor told Leland about the man's
gray eyes which made Leland think about Yolanda's new guy friend. After Taylor continued
for a while Leland interrupted and asked the man's name, Taylor replied, Basil Henderson.
Taylor then continued to tell his story, while Leland thought of Yolanda and how he could
tell her the news. 
When Yolanda walked into John's apartment with a key he gave her she saw John and her
newest client Monty having oral sex. She left the apartment immediately called Leland and
told him she was on her way back to Chicago and that they needed to talk. When she got
back her and Leland had a long discussion about John. After Yolanda finished talking
Leland told her that his client, Taylor, had an affair with John and that he had been
trying to tell her, but he just didn't know how to. Yolanda was mad at Leland for not
telling her sooner. She left and decided not to talk to him. After a couple of days of
not talking to Leland or John, Yolanda received a call from John, he tried to explain,
but Yolanda was not trying to hear it, while John was talking the other line rang, it was
Uncle Doc, Leland's uncle, telling her that Leland had been shot and that she needed to
get to the hospital emergency room. She clicked over and told John bye and rushed to the
hospital. When she got there Uncle Doc told her to call the rest of Leland's friends and
try to find someone to donate blood. When Dwight, Riley, and Selwyn arrived at the
hospital, Yolanda told them that Leland needed some blood, Dwight and Selwyn decided they
would donate it. After the surgery was over and Leland was in recovery, everyone began to
leave, except Dwight and Yolanda. Yolanda had forgotten about how mad she was at Leland
for not telling her about John. Leland left the hospital after about five days. Christmas
day came, John called and tried to explain again to Yolanda, but once again she was not
trying to hear it. He decided to call his father since Yolanda wouldn't listen to him. He
told him about his sexuality and how it all came about. He told his Dad about how his
Uncle Mac' molested him at the age of nine, and that every since that day he has looked
at men in a different way. His dad tried to comfort him, but he couldn't think of
anything to tell him. 
After realizing what would help him to get over the hurt of being molested, John quit
working at his job, and became a psychiatrist for sexually abused adolescents. Yolanda
continued her life, single and working as a media consultant. Riley and Selwyn worked on
their relationship. Riley still tried to pursue her career as a singer and poet. Dwight
found him a job as a sports announcer.
This novel very funny and overall kept my attention. I like the dialogue in the novel, it
made the characters seem more realistic. A couple of parts in the book I skipped because
they were boring and had no relevance to the main conflict of the story. The message of
this novel is that life is an everyday struggle and although you can live everyday saying
if, you must still live your life for what is.