note to self
by Connor Franta
Keywords Press

Coming from the generation that shares everything, American Connor Franta has managed to get 355 million views on his channel and has over 5.58 million subscribers. Franta has crammed a lot into his 24 years. He’s travelled, made lots of money and fallen in love. He has a record label, a clothing line and a coffee and lifestyle brand. He’s raised money to build wells in Swaziland and written a memoir (A Work in Progress) which spent 16 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List.

- Advertisement -

When he came out as being gay on a You Tube video in December 2014, he spoke about the help he got from others on the Internet and how he wanted to help others struggling with their sexuality. Now he has poured out his private musings in a book of stories, poems, photographs, thoughts and essays. As a young gay man, he reveals that he has insecurities and defeatist thinking and been seriously depressed. He has also had his heart broken and he has spewed out his madness onto the pages of this book.

Franta said “If my first book, A Work in Progress, was a reflection of my external life so far, then this follow-up is a reflection of my internal life.” He calls it “a scrapbook of the mind” written during his quarter life crisis. Sometimes struggling with depression, he has realized that running away from problems didn’t solve anything even though distance did offer perspective. His memoir records how he eventually swam to the top and he gives advice to his younger self about all the struggles yet to come.

So much maturity in one so young. This is a very personal collection of observations, revelations and insights into the continuing challenges of gay youth. The photographs are pure moments of joy. Sometimes he celebrates nature, sometimes he throws in a self portrait and at other times the viewer finds themselves following the lines he has captured. In note to self Franta shares personal discoveries that many young (and not so young) people can relate to.

Lezly Herbert