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Out of Step
What makes a pink-haired queer raise his hand to enlist in the military just as the nation is charging into war? In his memoir, Out of Step, Anthony Moll tells the story of a working-class bisexual boy running off to join the army in the midst of two wars and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era. Set against the backdrop of hypermasculinity and sexual secrecy, Moll weaves a queer coming-of-age story.
Out of Step traces Moll’s development through his military service, recounting how the army both breaks and builds relationships, and what it was like to explore his queer identity while also coming to terms with his role in the nation’s ugly foreign policy. From a punk, nerdy, left-leaning, poor boy in Nevada leaving home for the first time to an adult returning to civilian life and forced to address a world more complicated than he was raised to believe, Moll’s journey isn’t a classic flag-waving memoir or war story—it’s a tale of finding one’s identity in the face of war and changing ideals.
Out of Step traces Moll’s development through his military service, recounting how the army both breaks and builds relationships, and what it was like to explore his queer identity while also coming to terms with his role in the nation’s ugly foreign policy. From a punk, nerdy, left-leaning, poor boy in Nevada leaving home for the first time to an adult returning to civilian life and forced to address a world more complicated than he was raised to believe, Moll’s journey isn’t a classic flag-waving memoir or war story—it’s a tale of finding one’s identity in the face of war and changing ideals.
116 pages, Paperback
First published July 18, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 11, 2018
What an amazing book. Moll so adroitly uses his own experiences as a queer soldier during the Don't Ask, Don't Tell era of our military, that we're right in his (clever) thoughts. At times funny, at times quite serious, Out of Step should be required reading all over.
March 5, 2020
Out of Step is the award-winning memoir-in-vignette-form of a working-class, left-leaning, pink-haired bisexual “punk” from Nevada who joins the military during the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era following the fall of the World Trade Center. Ultimately, it is about the search for identity, the questioning of gender norms, the entry into adulthood, and the complexity of a world we often try to simplify.
Written as a series of essays, meditations, and vignettes, the book gives attention to people who are often misunderstood and outcast, and who are trying to make their way in a hyper-masculine world that forces them into a life of secrecy and of a black-and-white world view.
Though critical of the military, Out of Step acknowledges its positive role in shaping the author’s life as he joins the army to escape poverty and a future without hope, attends boot-camp, and lives the life of a soldier for eight years. Moll never demonizes or sugarcoats but expresses an understanding of the dehumanizing aspects of the military as an institution while humanizing those who elect to serve.
Out of Step is a short book that helps us look beyond our partisan and ideological view of the world. A recommended book.
Written as a series of essays, meditations, and vignettes, the book gives attention to people who are often misunderstood and outcast, and who are trying to make their way in a hyper-masculine world that forces them into a life of secrecy and of a black-and-white world view.
Though critical of the military, Out of Step acknowledges its positive role in shaping the author’s life as he joins the army to escape poverty and a future without hope, attends boot-camp, and lives the life of a soldier for eight years. Moll never demonizes or sugarcoats but expresses an understanding of the dehumanizing aspects of the military as an institution while humanizing those who elect to serve.
Out of Step is a short book that helps us look beyond our partisan and ideological view of the world. A recommended book.
August 11, 2022
Powerful and thought-provoking.
I enjoyed the creative, nonlinear writing style.
If you prefer a more straightforward narrative style his memoir probably will not be to your taste.
When I read in this book is going to stick with me for a while and I am eager to find more of this author’s writing.
I enjoyed the creative, nonlinear writing style.
If you prefer a more straightforward narrative style his memoir probably will not be to your taste.
When I read in this book is going to stick with me for a while and I am eager to find more of this author’s writing.
July 16, 2018
I first knew Anthony Moll as a poet. His essay style has the same command of language you see in poets that deeply consider every word.
Out of Step considers reinvention, disassociation, and behaviors you can't escape against the backdrop of being a queer service member in the era of "don't ask, don't tell." We can tell our stories in our own way, but can we change those stories as we change our situation? Out of Step explores personal mythology while Moll grew into adulthood and found his own rituals.
This passage in the middle of the book was so beautiful to me:
"He was something to me, though: a moment, a comrade, a model for living. He was one of many men I would meet over the years who I stole a tiny bit form, a small piece of being that would help me complete the puzzle of what it means to be oneself, queer and whole." (69)
Out of Step considers reinvention, disassociation, and behaviors you can't escape against the backdrop of being a queer service member in the era of "don't ask, don't tell." We can tell our stories in our own way, but can we change those stories as we change our situation? Out of Step explores personal mythology while Moll grew into adulthood and found his own rituals.
This passage in the middle of the book was so beautiful to me:
"He was something to me, though: a moment, a comrade, a model for living. He was one of many men I would meet over the years who I stole a tiny bit form, a small piece of being that would help me complete the puzzle of what it means to be oneself, queer and whole." (69)
December 15, 2022
A terrific, lyrical, award-winning memoir about being queer in the Army right after 9/11 and right before the end of the 'don't ask, don't tell' era. I paired it with this other nonfiction work, and I'd highly recommend it as well:
Both works are incredibly well-written, fast-paced reads.
Caroline
Both works are incredibly well-written, fast-paced reads.
Caroline
September 16, 2019
I had the opportunity to hear Anthony Moll read and then picked up his book at the Portland AWP conference, and I'm so glad I did. Moll's essays are an honest and intimate look at his experience as a gay man in the military without resorting to caricatures of gay men (or women) or the military. As Moll explores and reflects on his own motivations and experiences, readers like me with no firsthand experience with growing up in small town Nevada or the military find no easily dismissed labels, but complex human beings not so different from ourselves.
November 18, 2020
“[T]here is a whole queer reality just under the surface, just beneath the battle-dress uniform, beneath the flag, beneath the suburbs, barely hidden behind everything you want to call America.”
Moll’s memoir expertly explores spectrums of sexuality and patriotism while walking the lines of both slightly out of step.
Moll’s memoir expertly explores spectrums of sexuality and patriotism while walking the lines of both slightly out of step.
September 13, 2018
Written with kindness, wit, and blunt honesty, this book captures Moll's memories of the Army after 9/11, but before DADT was repealed. It's a fascinating pocket of time in its own right, which Moll had to navigate alongside his own burgeoning adulthood.
Speaking personally, I learned a lot from this book, and could relate to it despite not directly identifying with the subject matter. Moll is a writer with both a big heart and considerable skill for bringing huge subjects like this down to earth, and I hope this book makes him filthy stinking rich somehow.
Speaking personally, I learned a lot from this book, and could relate to it despite not directly identifying with the subject matter. Moll is a writer with both a big heart and considerable skill for bringing huge subjects like this down to earth, and I hope this book makes him filthy stinking rich somehow.
September 21, 2019
Really interesting / important perspective on how the U.S. handles queerness and war, and the experiences of young adults who are caught in between. Very empathetic author voices with heartachingly beautiful nuances.
May 19, 2020
Insightful, captivating, and accessible. This is a must read for queers but also anyone trying to peer into the opaque veil of the military. Brutally honest in the best way. Remarkable writing that sticks with you.
January 24, 2020
An important, but challenging memoir to read. It's definitely the type of memoir you need to discuss after reading it.
June 10, 2021
Who proofread this book? Pictures were missing although clearly labeled one was supposed to be there. Every chapter I grammatically corrected. Nice insight, but it angered me. LoL
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews