by Paul Monette
First published 2017
This collection brings together three memoirs spanning Paul Monette's life from his Catholic childhood through his death from AIDS. In the first memoir, Monette recalls growing up overachieving and closeted, spending thirty years learning to "pass" for straight before finding self-acceptance. The second follows his relationship with Roger Horwitz and documents Horwitz's battle with AIDS until his death. The final section compiles essays from Monette's last two years as he faced his own AIDS diagnosis. Monette writes with wit and brutal honesty about desire, love, and loss during the AIDS epidemic. His voice ranges from humorous to enraged as he captures both intimate personal moments and the broader tragedy of an entire generation. These three works together form a complete portrait of one man's journey from shame to acceptance to grief.
Genres: grief, 20th-century, autobiography, memoir, biography-memoir, 21st-century, lgbt, gay
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, grief, shame-to-acceptance
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
1017 pages · Kindle Edition · Open Road Media
Content warnings: terminal-illness