Just As I Am: A Novel

At the end of Invisible Life, Raymond and Nicole had just ended a blossoming love affair when Nicole found herself unable to cope with Raymond's bisexuality. Just As I Am begins soon after that, as the two former lovers try to rebuild their lives. Raymond has moved to Atlanta to practice law, and he continues to question whether he's genuinely bisexual or really gay, but is unable to accept that a real lifetime love might happen with anyone but a wife. (The reappearance of charismatic--and closeted--pro football player Basil Henderson doesn't exactly make things easier for him.) Nicole has agreed to marry her rich, white lover, who's bankrolling her latest Broadway effort, even though she's not sure she loves him. She and Raymond are reunited when their mutual best friend, Kyle, succumbs to his HIV infection and Raymond returns to New York City to be by his side. Over the years, E. Lynn Harris has proved himself a powerful male counterpart to the commercial success of African American authors like Terry McMillan; the turbulent plot of Just As I Am, with its relentless focus on characters' feelings, ably demonstrates how he's become so popular.