Ask the Author: James Brandon
Answered Questions (3)
James Brandon
Hi Georgia! Thank you so much for your kindness! I'm so happy their story resonated with you!
To answer your question: Hmmmmm....
I'd have to answer your question with my own: What do YOU see?
To answer your question: Hmmmmm....
I'd have to answer your question with my own: What do YOU see?
James Brandon
This is a trick question, right? :) Short answer: impossible to choose. Longer answer: I'm currently in the midst of my first-round of revisions. My editor, Stacey Barney, brilliantly found the story I originally wanted to tell through the thicket of nonsense I sent her. And because of that, right now, I am falling madly in love with these two very different boys falling madly in love with each other.
James Brandon
On December 15, 1973, the American Psychiatric Association changed history.
After a long and rigorous, seemingly insurmountable battle fought by the Gay Liberation Movement, the APA officially declassified homosexuality as a mental illness. Simply put: if you identified as queer, for the first time in recorded history you were considered "normal."
This pioneering moment in time is considered by most to be the birth of the modern LGBTQ2+ Movement. And yet, as a queer person myself, I'm embarrassed to say I knew very little about it.
I was first introduced to this when a friend sent me an episode of This American Life, titled “81 words.” In it the narrator tells the story of her grandfather, one member of the APA's Committee, who would eventually decide the fate of millions of humans. It's a profound, layered, and dramatic account of that time (and of the emotional roller coaster both sides screamed on), and beautifully captures the many integral voices that impacted this moment.
And the seed of Jonathan's story was planted.
After a long and rigorous, seemingly insurmountable battle fought by the Gay Liberation Movement, the APA officially declassified homosexuality as a mental illness. Simply put: if you identified as queer, for the first time in recorded history you were considered "normal."
This pioneering moment in time is considered by most to be the birth of the modern LGBTQ2+ Movement. And yet, as a queer person myself, I'm embarrassed to say I knew very little about it.
I was first introduced to this when a friend sent me an episode of This American Life, titled “81 words.” In it the narrator tells the story of her grandfather, one member of the APA's Committee, who would eventually decide the fate of millions of humans. It's a profound, layered, and dramatic account of that time (and of the emotional roller coaster both sides screamed on), and beautifully captures the many integral voices that impacted this moment.
And the seed of Jonathan's story was planted.
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Sep 08, 2019 08:11AM · flag