Benjamin Rue Silliman (he/him/his) is a professor of accountancy at St. John’s University in New York City and is the department chairperson. A graduate of Ole Miss, NYU, North Carolina—Chapel Hill, and Columbia University, he has published over forty scholarly journal articles and presented papers on social tax policy; in 2015, he won a national writing award (Max Block Award) for his article dealing with the tax implications of same-sex married couples in the CPA Journal. Originally from Lexington, Benjamin attended Henry Clay High school. Benjamin is a Kentucky Colonel and resides in Manhattan with his husband.
Exiting the Bluegrass Parkway is a fierce and tender page-turner about a young man’s journey from darkness towards authenticity. Silliman’s heartfelt and perceptive story is needed now more than ever—an urgent reminder of how compassion and kindness can save lives.
~ Jonathan Corcoran - Author of No Son of Mine: A Memoir (April 2024), The Rope Swing: Stories
Benjamin Silliman’s debut novel, Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike, is the reason why we love debut novels. This poignant, heartwarming, and at times heartbreaking “coming of age” story has some great specifics giving us insight into cultural worlds – gay/bisexual, Southern, Kentucky – and yet is the tale of anyone who has ever faced moving from teen to young adult, for better or for worse. This inspiring story of innocent resilience holding onto an invincible spirit while enduring things no one should ever be asked to endure is respectful homage to low lows and the high highs of what it means to grow up and face a world of pleasure, pain, and the indomitable spirit of becoming an adult – ready, or not.
Benjamin Silliman’s Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike is the poignant novelization of a young man facing every developmental milestone a young adult can face – family influence, sexual identity, pleasure and pain, love and longing, security and isolation, confidence and fear, trust and betrayal, individualization and assimilation, innocence and trauma, grief and reward – all in the shortest of time periods. Benjamin’s unique story is all his own, and yet it’s our story, too. It’s called growing up and learning to live Life on Life’s terms.
Benjamin Silliman’s debut novel is the product of the “expressive therapies,” writing as a way to emotionally process, cognitively reframe, and come to terms with one’s adolescent developmental milestones where some are universal, and others are events that no one – especially a minor – should ever be asked to endure. It’s a story that delights in its exploration of young love – of several kinds – and is also an inspirational homage to the resilience of the human spirit. It’s the story that leaves you craving a sequel, wanting more from the “Zackary” we all fall in love with from Chapter One.
~ Ken Howard, LCSW, CST, Founder, GayTherapyLA.com
“A queer post-modern coming of age tale with all the mood of The Bell Jar, chockfull with an erotic Capote styled doomed romance, and many apparitions of Southern Gothic characters.”
~ Mark Daniel Compton, Author of Fruitcake
Silliman’s Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike is a queer post-modern coming of age tale with a Southern Gothic check list of dysfunctional characters and topics. Set in the early 1980s, Silliman captures the culture of the early Reagan era. It is as if Silliman’s cultural narrative referenced The Official Preppy Handbook by Birnbach, Roberts, Wallace and Willey (1980) and accurately describes not just the fashion, but WASP attitudes of the age, quickly giving the reader insight into old money Kentucky. Silliman’s prose is structured like a memoir with vocabulary choices bordering on a Racine tragedy. His protagonist lacks many typical characteristics associated with the traditional hero, but by no means would you call Silliman’s champion an antihero. Plathian influences and overtones shadow throughout this coming of age tale from its opening sentence to its last chapter, while satisfactorily not materializing the emblematic stereotypes. Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike has all the mood of The Bell Jar, is chockfull with an erotic Capote styled doomed romance, and many apparitions of Sothern Gothic stock characters any reader of the genre will recognize and enjoy.
~ Mark Daniel Compton, Author of Fruitcake
Silliman’s Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike is a tender coming of age story about Zackary, our open-hearted teenage protagonist, who is struggling to come to terms with his own sexuality in Kentucky. Silliman adroitly captures Zackary’s feelings of confusion and hopefulness as he navigates the pangs of first love, the wonder of sexual discovery, and the pain of betrayal. It isn’t only Zackary’s inner life that Silliman narrates with sensitivity and compassion. He gives the same patient attention to the people surrounding Zack, giving us nuanced and complex portraits of characters like Zack’s gruff father, alternately cruel and protective, who is hiding a secret of his own. Silliman is a keen observer and this talent shows in his careful attention to the smallest detail—the coldness of the sunlight, the sounds, smells and textures of everyday small town life. The richness of description that Silliman offers the reader brings Zackary’s world to vibrant life.
~ Elda Tsou, Author of Unquiet Tropes: Form, Race, and Asian American Literature
A Poignant Southern Coming-of-Age Tale. In Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpike, Benjamin Rue Silliman masterfully captures the fragile world of adolescence, weaving a story that is as heart-wrenching as it is hopeful. Set against the backdrop of 1981 Lexington, Kentucky, the novel follows 17-year-old Zackary Kingdon, whose summer is marked by inner turmoil, family pressures, and the lingering scars of trauma. Richly layered and distinctly human, Exiting the Bluegrass Turnpikeis a poignant coming-of-age novel that captures the complexities of growing up in the shadow of trauma—and the beauty of finding hope where it’s least expected.
~ Joseph Cucci, Author of Dojo Dilemmas