by Barney Frank
First published 2015
Barney Frank chronicles his journey from a closeted teenager in Bayonne, New Jersey to becoming one of America's most influential legislators. At fourteen, Frank discovered his attraction to both government and men. He pursued the first openly while hiding the second for decades. This memoir traces Frank's rise through Massachusetts politics and his central role in major legislative battles. He fought for AIDS funding in the 1980s, navigated the Clinton impeachment proceedings, and helped craft sweeping Wall Street reforms after the 2008 financial crisis. Frank also led efforts to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The book reveals the personal costs of his political career, including years of living closeted and painful conflicts with allies. Frank discusses his famous wit, his friendships with figures like Tip O'Neill and Sonny Bono, and finding love with Jim Ready, whom he married while serving in Congress. He became the first sitting member to enter a same-sex marriage. Frank argues for effective governance and explains how political change actually happens, drawing from his four decades of experience in the trenches of American politics.
Genres: biography, american, politics, 21st-century, lgbt, government
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Bayonne, New Jersey, Massachusetts
Period: 1980s, 2008
400 pages · Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux