Cotton Candy Sun: A Gay Man’s Wild Ride

Nathan Scott Smith

The tumultuous teens lead to the tempestuous twenties.

As Nathan navigates an intense relationship, he courageously shares with us what he has learned about people, the world, and most of all, himself. He creates an intimate portrait of a man willing to open up his feelings and reveal his most vulnerable moments.

Other poems complete the picture of Nathan’s growth as a student, lover, son, and emerging poet. Offering many personal insights as a gay man in a world wrestling with widespread social issues, his journey resonates within the beauty of his words.

Take a wild ride at this carnival of heartfelt emotion. (Summary via Goodreads)

My intentions for reading Cotton Candy Sun : A Gay Man’s Wild Ride by Nathan Scott Smith was to read a few poems daily to stretch out the book … unfortunately once I started reading it, it was very hard to stop. I found that I was reading more each day and today I just had to keep reading it until the end.

Cotton Candy Sun: A Gay Man’s Wild Ride is a book of poems written by this amazing young man who has so much life yet to live but who has also lived many lifetimes. The book is written in three categories. The first category labeled Roots : Tall Enough to Ride is dedicated to Nathan and his life. You get to know he intimately and see his struggles with life. Next you have Romance : Roller Coaster and this provides you with his struggles with dating, love and heartbreak. Then he concludes the book with Recovery : Hold On Tight where he again opens up about his life and especially what he wants in his future.

Every time I started reading a poem in this book, it became my favorite … until I turned to the next page and poem and then I thought that would be my favorite … and then … well, I think you know where I am going. It was impossible to deem one poem as my favorite. It was also hard reading some of them because of the pain that Nathan was experiencing when he penned the poem. Some of the poems felt very personal to me because of a family member dealing with some of the same feelings as Nathan. I just wish he had been as strong as Nathan to keep going.

I cannot say enough about this poet and this book. I highly encourage you to grab your copy and start reading it. You will enjoy it !!! I cannot wait to see where Nathan goes from here and hope that there will be more books written.