Most coming of age novels suggest this ‘coming of age’ is the defining moment in your life. The Rites of Passage takes a different view: Jamie Goldberg faces the classical “who am I?” question. His search brings more questions than answers. Follow him on his bumpy journey of self-revelation as he learns the difference between the self we can remake and reinvent as opposed to the other self —our integrity or our soul— which we can betray only at our peril. It’s a story of compassion and the yearning for the coming of age that never quite happens in real life—or rather happens again and again and again. Jamie Goldberg suspects his homosexuality at an early age and manages to hide it from his homophobic Seventies Detroit community, his Jewish political activist parents, and even from himself until his rape, at the hands of a male prostitute, at the age of 16. Profoundly ashamed, he hides in two worlds. One world is an intellectual cocoon spun from music, art, theater, and literature. The other is a darker world where sadomasochistic desires attempt to obliterate his sexuality. His elaborate fantasies are no match for real life or his true affections, which blossom in spite of his constant attempts to thwart them. When his carefully constructed imaginary world begins to crumble, Jamie must face his demons, both real and invented, then the emotional sparks fly.