Overview

We're Thankful for the Moisture contains personal essays by award-winning humor columnist Eli McCann for The Salt Lake Tribune, along with corresponding cartoons by the Tribune's Pat Bagley. McCann explores cultural Mormonism and his experiences growing up in Utah as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the 1990s, coming out as gay in adulthood, leaving his faith, and navigating life in Salt Lake City with his husband and their young child. Known for his observational humor, nostalgia, and compassion for those in his community who span the religious spectrum, McCann weaves together the silliness that often comes out of communal traditions with the humanity of those who hold those traditions dear. ""I still think there's no better sound than the background noise of neighbors being neighbors,"" he writes, ""the simple hum of a people gathered."" While there is much humor to be found in baffling cultural entreaties, like McCann's grandmother sincerely claiming that nineteenth-century Mormon pioneers wouldn't trade places with those who live in 2025, or parents justifying a curfew time by insisting ""the Holy Ghost goes to bed at midnight,"" there is also beauty in what prompts a person to believe such things. McCann's writings seek to prove just that.

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9781560855323

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Reviews

""Hilarious, poignant, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and universal. Eli McCann captures the experience of a Mormon upbringing, married life with his husband in Utah, and what it was like to exit his religion--all with clear-eyed honesty, insight, tenderness, and scar tissue. We're Thankful for the Moisture is a casual, easy, and joyful read, and that makes it all the more piercing and moving."" --Gabrielle Blair, New York Times best-selling author ""Eli's writing contains colorful descriptions and relatable stories full of empathy and humor, underscoring the importance of community."" --Steve Young, Pro Football Hall of Famer, philanthropist, and New York Times best-selling author ""Readers sometimes ask me, 'What's it like to edit Eli McCann?' Well, if I'm being honest, it's challenging, exhausting, and horrifying--challenging to avoid laughing out loud in the office when I come across his witty lines; exhausting to wear myself out looking for someone with whom I can immediately share his latest insight; and horrifying to know how little we pay him for his priceless columns. (Please buy this book. It'll help me sleep better at night.)"" --Dave Noyce, The Salt Lake Tribune ""Being gay is fun. Being a funny Latter-gay Saint? That's comedy gold. Eli McCann has somehow survived years of family home evenings; a full-time mission; and gay courtship, marriage and child-rearing in Utah--and turns it all into laugh-out-loud essays proving that sometimes, what some call wickedness can to others be happiness."" --Troy Williams, Equality Utah ""Eli has a unique ability to put into words the cultural quirks and oddities of Mormonism in a way that endears him to readers around the globe. Through his hyper-specific anecdotes, he reveals universal truths while at the same time being personally relatable, making him one of my favorite writers."" --Meg Walter, Deseret News

Author Information

Eli McCann is a lawyer, writer, and podcaster. His monthly humor column for The Salt Lake Tribune explores cultural and religious ideas, usually through his experiences living as a gay man in Utah. Since 2016, McCann has produced and cohosted the storytelling podcast and live show, Strangerville. His work has been featured in publications around the world, including The Washington Post, Newsweek, HuffPost, BBC, and others. His writing and other creative projects can be found at his website, itjustgetsstranger.com.

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