"Better to Cry Now" is a straightforward memoir for a straightforward man. Newman's writing is concise and precise, every line carefully thought out to paint the most vivid picture, and we're catapulted into flashback after flashback to understand the man he is today.
Newman was a black child in an all-white school, where one of the teachers firmly believed black people would never be able to master the French language. Just like this, we're brought into the humiliation of this child, whose fault resided into the colour of his own skin.
Newman's parents were such catalysts in his life, and it was his mother's mantra that gave the memoir its title: "Better to cry now than be sorry later". Often, when reading memoirs of older people, we realise how little their parents were involved in their lives. Be it because of the outside pressures of raising tough children, or because of the lack of guidance those parents had. Newman's parents were refreshing to read about.

The main takeaway of this memoir is identity, and its shaping. Newman resiliently stood by his own identity no matter the shape it took, and the prejudice other people laid on him for it.

The main takeaway from this book for me was identity. Geoffrey spent majority of his life fighting the identity that he wanted to create because of societal issues and problems. But in that, he managed to use the arts of acting and theater to fully express himself in a way that it took him a while to do, which was nice to see. But once people found out who he really was, he still stood firm and never gave up even when things weren’t going his way. Definitely a motivational book for those struggling with their sexuality and identity.