Tramps Like Us: A Novel
Joe Westmoreland
Jun 2025 · Highbridge Audio · Narrated by Nick Monteleone
headphones
Audiobook
10 hr 55 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
Want a free 1 hr 5 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
Abused by his father and stifled by closeted life as a teenager in Kansas City, Joe, the wide-eyed narrator of Tramps Like Us, graduates from high school in 1974 and hits the road hitchhiking. But it isn't until he reunites with Ali, his hometown's other queer outcast, that Joe finds a partner in crime. When the two of them finally wash up in New Orleans, they discover a hedonistic paradise of sex, drugs, and music, a world that only expands when they move to San Francisco in 1979.
Told with openhearted frankness, Joe Westmoreland's Tramps Like Us is an exuberantly soulful adventure of self-discovery and belonging, set across a consequential American decade. In New Orleans and San Francisco, and on the roads in between, Joe and Ali find communities of misfits to call their own. The days and nights blur, a blend of LSD and heroin, new wave and disco, orgies and friends, and the thrilling spontaneity of youth—all of which is threatened the moment Joe, Ali, and seemingly everyone around them are diagnosed with HIV. But miraculously, the stories survive. As Eileen Myles writes, "I love this book most of all because it is so mortal."
Tramps Like Us is an ode to a nearly lost generation, an autofictional chronicle of America between gay liberation and the AIDS crisis, and an evergreen testament to the force of friendship.
Told with openhearted frankness, Joe Westmoreland's Tramps Like Us is an exuberantly soulful adventure of self-discovery and belonging, set across a consequential American decade. In New Orleans and San Francisco, and on the roads in between, Joe and Ali find communities of misfits to call their own. The days and nights blur, a blend of LSD and heroin, new wave and disco, orgies and friends, and the thrilling spontaneity of youth—all of which is threatened the moment Joe, Ali, and seemingly everyone around them are diagnosed with HIV. But miraculously, the stories survive. As Eileen Myles writes, "I love this book most of all because it is so mortal."
Tramps Like Us is an ode to a nearly lost generation, an autofictional chronicle of America between gay liberation and the AIDS crisis, and an evergreen testament to the force of friendship.
Abused by his father and stifled by closeted life as a teenager in Kansas City, Joe, the wide-eyed narrator of Tramps Like Us, graduates from high school in 1974 and hits the road hitchhiking. But it isn't until he reunites with Ali, his hometown's other queer outcast, that Joe finds a partner in...
Discover more
About the author
Eileen Myles is an American poet and writer born on December 9, 1949 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They graduate from the University of Massachusetts Boston (1971). They moved to New York City in 1974 where they participated in workshops and worked with and for several famous poets. Their career includes working as Artistic Director of St. Mark's Poetry Project, serving as Professor of Writing at the University of California, San Diego, and Visiting Writer at seven colleges. Myles's first book, The Irony of the Leash, was published in 1978. Some of their other work includes A Fresh Young Voice From the Plains, Not Me, Inferno, Maxfield Parrish/early and new poems, School of Fish, Skies, On My Way, Snowflake / Different Streets, and The Importance of Being Iceland. They have also written articles, essays, plays and other works of fiction and nonfiction. Myles founded the Lost Texans Collective with Elinor Nauen and Barbara McKay and performed in group and solo performances. They have received numerous awards for their work. Myles latest awards include The Clark Prize for Excellence in Arts Writing (2015) and The Lambda Pioneer Award (2016).
Eileen Myles is an American poet and writer born on December 9, 1949 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They graduate from the University of Massachusetts Boston (1971). They moved to New York City in 1974 where they participated in workshops and worked with and for several famous poets. Their career i...
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
