A moving, humane and empathetic psychological exploration of gay men's emotional lives- through pain, trauma, love, loss, survival and self-acceptance.
Walt Odets is a clinical psychologist and writer. He is the author of In the Shadow of the Epidemic- Being HIV-Negative in the Age of AIDS. He lives in Berkeley, where he has practised psychology since 1987.
Out of the Shadows is several books: A snapshot of three
generations of gay men and the effect AIDS has had on them, an
argument for the gay sensibility in a time of assimilation, and a
memoir. But most of all it is stories, fascinating stories gleaned
from the gay men who came to Odets for talk therapy. They make it
both riveting and moving. A gay man could read this book as if his
life depended on it -- and perhaps it does.
*Andrew Holleran, author of Dancer from the Dance*
Drawn from a lifetime of thinking about the lives of gay men...
[this book is] the best manifesto on which to build a platform of
queer love and self-acceptance, and ensure the foundations of our
community are not further eroded.
*The Observer*
A copy of this vital book should be given to every politician,
every educator, every journalist to help transform the inadequacy
of our dialogue about queer lives
*Andrew McMillan*
Out of the Shadows is the story of what it is to be gay and alive
now... I wept with sorrow and pride at the persistent and
contradictory life-force running in a seam throughout the book. Out
of the Shadows is a major addition to the literature of gay life
and death, of the difficult task of finding forms of intimacy that
humans need in order to thrive
*Jon Robin Baitz, playwright*
Walt Odets does what few other writers have done before. Drawing
deeply from the diversities of gay male culture, the lives of his
clients, and his own experience, he skilfully and loving explores
the emotional and psychic realities of being a gay man today.
Compelling, compassionate, and at times even humorous, this is an
important, vital book that takes with great seriousness both the
demands of intimacy and powers of sexuality.
*Michael Bronski, Professor, Harvard University, and author of A
Queer History of the United States*
His writing is poignant and achingly beautiful - so much so, in
fact, that I occasionally had to put the book down to avoid weeping
on the subway. There's sadness in Odets's life story, but there's
mostly resilience, tenderness and a willingness to fashion an
unapologetic gay life, sometimes against all odds
*The New York Times*
A soaring combination of social critique, memoir, and manifesto.
Odets's greatest strengths are his moving prose and ability to make
the psychological material accessible and as fascinating and
thought-provoking as the poignant stories. Gay men will find much
to ponder here, but any reader can find meaning in this
extraordinary, stirring invitation to re-examine assumptions about
what it means to be gay and to have a good life.
*Publisher's Weekly*
Call it a shadow, a trauma, or simply a past. I trust that Odets
has saved many from it, and his book might save many more.
*Bookbrunch*
Exploring true stories of gay men over several generations...lays
bare the trauma that coming out and living your truth has for all
queer people. Heartbreaking, enlightening but much needed.
*Niven Govinden*
Poignant and achingly beautiful
*New York Times*
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