Book picks similar to
What Happened to Gay Life? by Robert Reynolds


history-philosophy-sociology
lgbtqia
memoir-biography
written-by-male

Her Outback Secret


Kristy Taylor - 2018
     Sick of being broke, vet nurse Kylie Douglas is intent on selling the outback homestead she inherited so she can get back to her normal life in Brisbane with some cash to burn. She has never really been attracted to the strong silent type, but when she meets Jack she senses there is something different about him.Still grieving for his wife and unborn child, Jack Lawson is intent on buying the outback homestead to keep their memories close. Jack knows he needs to move on with his life, but can he if he has to leave the homestead behind?When the homestead starts to unearth its many secrets, Kylie and Jack's worlds collide as the past comes back to haunt them. Will her grandmother's biggest secret tear both their worlds apart?

To the End of the World: Travels with Oscar Wilde


Rupert Everett - 2020
    Well, in show business you may have been dead five years before you finally twig. You howl around the corridors of power while the elect march straight through. Then one day you catch yourself in a mirror and there is nothing looking back.In his highly anticipated third memoir, Rupert Everett tells the story of how he set out to make a film of Oscar Wilde's last days, and how that ten-year quest almost destroyed him. (And everyone else.)Travelling across Europe for the film, he weaves in extraordinary tales from his past, remembering wild times, freak encounters and lost friends. There are celebrities, of course. But we also meet glamorous but doomed Aunt Peta, who introduces Rupert (aged three) to the joys of make-up. In '90s Paris, his great friend Lychee burns bright, and is gone. While in '70s London, a 'weirdly tall, beyond size zero' teenage Rupert is expelled from the Central School of Speech and Drama.Unflinchingly honest and hugely entertaining, To the End of the World offers a unique insight into the 'snakes and ladders' of filmmaking. It is also a soulful and thought-provoking autobiography from one of our best-loved and most talented actors and writers.

Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies


Michael Ausiello - 2017
    From his time at Soaps in Depth and Entertainment Tonight to his influential stints at TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly to his current role as co-founder of the wildly popular website TVLine.com, Michael has established himself as the go-to expert when it comes to our most popular form of entertainment.What many of his fans don’t know, however, is that while his professional life was in full swing, Michael had to endure the greatest of personal tragedies: his longtime boyfriend, Kit Cowan, was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of neuroendrocrine cancer. Over the course of eleven months, Kit and Michael did their best to combat the deadly disease, but Kit succumbed to his illness in February 2015.In this heartbreaking and darkly hilarious memoir, Michael tells the story of his harrowing and challenging last year with Kit while revisiting the thirteen years that preceded it, and how the undeniably powerful bond between him and Kit carried them through all manner of difficulty—always with laughter front and center in their relationship. Instead of a tale of sadness and loss, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies is an unforgettable, inspiring, and beautiful testament to the resilience and strength of true love.

The Lie: A Memoir of Two Marriages, Catfishing & Coming Out


William Dameron - 2019
    On social networks and dating sites, his image and identity—a forty-year-old straight white male—had been used to hook countless women into believing in lies of love and romance. Was it all an ironic cosmic joke? Almost a decade prior, William himself had been living a lie that had lasted for more than twenty years. His secret? He was a gay man, a fact he hid from his wife and two daughters for almost as long as he had hidden it from himself.In this emotional and unflinchingly honest memoir of coming out of the closet late in life, owning up to the past, and facing the future, William Dameron confronts steroid addiction, the shame and homophobia of his childhood, the sledgehammer of secrets that slowly tore his marriage apart, and his love for a gay father of three that would once again challenge the boundaries of trust. At the true heart of The Lie is a universal story about turning self-doubt into self-acceptance and about pain, anger, and the long journey of both seeking and giving forgiveness.

Trapped in a Bubble: The shocking true story of child abuse, gay bullying and depression (Child Abuse True Stories)


Jack Collins - 2013
    From that house. That street. That place. And his parents. As a troubled teenager - struggling with his sexuality after years of bullying and abuse, including being spat on, beaten, having dog faeces forced into his mouth, and sexual assault - he left home and moved to another city, put together a new life and became a different person, while keeping the 'dead spots' hidden from everyone - sporadic bouts of depression that could wipe out days at a time. But years later, in the aftermath of a disturbing reminder of the past, he begins to unravel, which leads to a move abroad followed by a return to his childhood home. Moving back into that claustrophobic house full of unwanted memories - with his manipulative, controlling mother, and too many reminders of his toxic father - wasn't supposed to be for long, but as the past catches up with him, he heads towards a breakdown and finds himself trapped once again.

Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the Suicide of Her Gay Son


Leroy Aarons - 1995
    Faced with an irresolvable conflict-for both his family and his religion taught him that being gay was "wrong"-Bobby chose to take his own life. Prayers for Bobby, nominated for a 1996 Lambda Literary Award, is the story of the emotional journey that led Bobby to this tragic conclusion. But it is also the story of Bobby's mother, a fearful churchgoer who first prayed that her son would be "healed," then anguished over his suicide, and ultimately transformed herself into a national crusader for gay and lesbian youth.As told through Bobby's poignant journal entries and his mother's reminiscences, Prayers for Bobby is at once a moving personal story, a true profile in courage, and a call to arms to parents everywhere.

His Own Way Out


Taylor Saracen - 2018
    While the teenager is unsure of which direction to take in life, he’s aware the road he’s on is a direct route to desolation. Being outed as bisexual in the bluegrass state is alienating, and the events to follow are worse. Still, Blake is driven—by any means necessary—to make something more of himself. Identifying an opening, Blake paves a path and finds His Own Way Out.Publisher Notes:13 Red Media, Ltd, parent company to Helix Studios, is pleased to announce Rise Up.Rise Up is a series of new adult novels that illuminates pivotal moments in the lives of LGBTQ youth. Each novel features a fresh protagonist and his experience navigating the ups and downs of adulthood. While the characters change and the stories vary, common themes—including the struggle for independence, identifying one’s passions, searching for acceptance and for love—are interwoven through the pages of the novels. These stories will open your eyes to worlds of possibilities, both conventional and off-beat, as these men take you on their journeys to self-discovery. Keith Miller, founder of Helix, says “I’ve heard such amazing stories of love and life over the years from our many models and now to see these stories used as a basis for an LGBTQ novel is truly a dream come true.“The novels are written by Taylor Saracen with story line input provided by exclusive Helix models. These novels will be released in print as well as digital platforms. Participating models will share in revenue from novel sales. According to Mitchell, “Helix has really given me great opportunities to grow my career, and I am excited to continue working with such a solid company. I can’t wait to share this story with the world and trust it will touch others as much as it has me.”

Holidays


William McInnes - 2014
    This book will take you back to the holidays you had as a kid and remind you of the ones you've had with your own family or friends or even the ones where you've flown solo. Holidays are the runway to possibilities - a romantic sunset, the spare seat at breakfast being taken by an attractive stranger, a miraculous airline upgrade - or missing bags, unfortunate rashes and wrong turns that lead to places you definitely did not intend to go. Whether you are away from home and somewhere exotic or just in your own backyard on a lilo in an above-ground pool, whatever happens, you know that life is sweet because you're on HOLIDAYS. Whatever kind of holiday you've got planned, make sure you pack this warm and funny celebration of Australia's favourite national pastime. PRAISE for William McInnes's previous books: 'skilfully constructed...insightful, understated and very funny' Sydney Morning Herald on "The Laughing Clowns"'The Making of Modern Australia is a ripper' The Canberra Times'William McInnes compels with the sheer delightfulness of his memoir, and with his fine ability to spin a damn funny yarn' Sunday Telegraph on "A Man's Got To Have a Hobby"'funny and clever' Daily Telegraph on "That'd Be Right"'A big-hearted novel with character' Sunday Telegraph on "Cricket Kings"

The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller


Carol Baxter - 2017
    Jail attendants said they understood she was held in connection with the shooting of an airline pilot.'Petite, glamorous and beguiling, Jessie 'Chubbie' Miller was one remarkable woman ... flyer, thrill seeker, heartbreaker. No adventure was too wild for her, no danger too extreme. And all over the world men adored her.When the young Jessie left suburban Melbourne and her newspaperman husband in 1927, little did she know that she'd become the first woman to complete an England to Australia flight (with a black silk gown thrown into her small flight bag, just in case), or fly the first air race for women with Amelia Earhart, or that she would disappear over the Florida Straits feared lost forever only to charm her way to a rescue. Nor could she have predicted that five years later she'd find herself at the centre of one of the most notorious and controversial murder trials in United States history. And this all began with something as ridiculously mundane as a pat of butter.The Fabulous Flying Mrs Miller is a spellbinding story of an extraordinary woman - an international celebrity during the golden age of aviation - and her passionate and spirited life.

This Much is True


Miriam Margolyes - 2021
    Find out how being conceived in an air-raid gave her curly hair; what pranks led to her being known as the naughtiest girl Oxford High School ever had; how she ended up posing nude for Augustus John as a teenager; why Bob Monkhouse was the best (male) kiss she's ever had; and what happened next after Warren Beatty asked 'Do you fuck?'From declaring her love to Vanessa Redgrave to being told to be quiet by the Queen, this book is packed with hilarious stories. With a cast list stretching from Scorsese to Streisand, a cross-dressing Leonardo di Caprio to Isaiah Berlin, This Much Is True is as full of life and surprises, as its inimitable author.

Reckless Paper Birds


John McCullough - 2019
    The author of the critically acclaimed collections The Frost Fairs and Spacecraft, Brighton-based John McCullough pulls no punches in this latest - and his most powerful -collection. These are poems of skill, joy and quiet musicality that reflect the conflict and complexity of being.

Happy Endings


Bella Green - 2021
    Divorced dads, IT nerds, international students - she's here for the idiosyncrasies of human behaviour, for soothing the lonely. But really for the cash.From an entrepreneurial kid to a young woman trying to find herself (and desperate to stay out of call centres), Bella started sex work for the glamour and the taboo. Instead, she found her place in this surprisingly mundane and often entertaining industry, where the hierarchy is strict, the names are fake, and spare towels always come in handy.Taking us on a funny, candid, can't-look-away journey through brothels, strip clubs, peep shows and dominatrix dungeons, Happy Endings is a hilarious and compelling memoir from a bright and bold new Australian voice.Praise for Bella Green'Authentic, hilarious, and uplifting.' WeekendNotes'No holds barred ... Smart as a whip ... Green's the real deal who wants everyone to get their happy ending.' The Advertiser (Adelaide)'A brilliant stand-up comedian.' Wil Anderson'The voice modern comedy needs.' DeAnne Smith

Last Watch of the Night: Essays Too Personal and Otherwise


Paul Monette - 1994
    Brimming with outrage yet tender, this is a “remarkable book” (Philadelphia Inquirer).Puck --Gert --My priests --3275 --The politics of silence --Mustering --A one-way fare --Getting covered --Sleeping under a tree --Mortal things --Some afterthoughts

Pee-Shy


Frank Spinelli - 2013
    . .Frank Spinelli grew up on Staten Island in the 1970s to Italian-born parents who viewed cops and priests as second only to the Pope in infallibility. His mother, concerned that her son was being bullied at school for being "different," signed Frank up for Boy Scouts when he turned eleven. For the next two years, Frank's life had two realities--one lived in full view of his family, and the other a secret he shared with his Scoutmaster that he couldn't confess to anybody.Eventually Frank went to college, established a thriving medical practice, and found a home in Manhattan. But the emotional and physical effects of his past continued to shadow every aspect of his life. Then a shocking discovery gave Frank the opportunity to overturn thirty years of confusion and self-blame--for himself, and for other boys like him.Pee-Shy is a remarkable story of overcoming the unimaginable to choose resilience over darkness, and love over loss."A devastatingly heartbreaking look at life after childhood abuse, with wit and piercing insight that can only come from a place of brutal honesty." --Josh Kilmer-Purcell"This is a memoir about a grown-up boy's generous--and healing--heart."--Kevin Sessums"This is one of those horrific, true stories that Dr. Spinelli so courageously reveals. With raw honesty he makes us understand that monsters do exist and a child's innocence is precious. His story is one of too many, but maybe, this one will help open our eyes a little more and shine a light on a taboo subject that many chose not to see or believe." --Whoopi Goldberg

Outback Secrets


Suzanne Brandyn - 2021
    When bones are recently discovered near his abandoned ute, her mother informs her of the details surrounding that devastating day. Now, Lily is determined to find out what happened.Under the alias of Abby O’Brien, she leaves her job with the police force in the city and accepts a position as a personal nurse to care for Nathaniel and Matthew Kinsley’s mother.Arriving at the cattle station, Lily thinks she has a foolproof plan until she catches the eye of the elder Kinsley brother and sparks fly.Secrets are revealed, and the sordid past of the Nobles and Kinsleys comes to a head when Lily discovers a family she didn’t know existed.Will this news be the glue to hold her to a place she once called home, and can she learn to trust Nathaniel and accept his marriage proposal?