What do you think?
Rate this book
Nine-Year Cycle: A Memoir
Growing up in a small town in the 60s, I want to be a performer - I do not know that I am gay. I am cast in brilliant productions and meet my first true love. A life together blossoms, filled with incredible acting roles for us both.
Then the bombshell is dropped-he is diagnosed with HIV. I nurse him for months, unable to work and no financial aid, until his death in 1992. A nine-year relationship. When my soulmate dies, I am at a complete loss. Only friends and theatre bring me back to life.
Years later I move to Brighton and meet an aspiring designer from Algeria on a gay dating app. So begins our love story. We overcome immigration obstacles thanks to Lord Cashman and build a life as Civil Partners. Out of the blue he returns to his Islamic faith and cannot continue with his lifestyle. I spiral into depression. Friends and theatre pull me from the depths of despair. I return to Chichester Theatre thanks to Stephen Mear where I was working when we first met nine years before.
Then the bombshell is dropped-he is diagnosed with HIV. I nurse him for months, unable to work and no financial aid, until his death in 1992. A nine-year relationship. When my soulmate dies, I am at a complete loss. Only friends and theatre bring me back to life.
Years later I move to Brighton and meet an aspiring designer from Algeria on a gay dating app. So begins our love story. We overcome immigration obstacles thanks to Lord Cashman and build a life as Civil Partners. Out of the blue he returns to his Islamic faith and cannot continue with his lifestyle. I spiral into depression. Friends and theatre pull me from the depths of despair. I return to Chichester Theatre thanks to Stephen Mear where I was working when we first met nine years before.
174 pages, Paperback
Published January 10, 2025
1 person want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 3, 2025
Perfect for readers who enjoy memoirs that feel both personal and universal—especially those ready to sit with complexity, vulnerability, and the ways we survive and transform through love.
Nine-Year Cycle is a real-life story about love, heartbreak, and finding yourself again. Trevor Jones tells us about two important relationships he had—each lasting nine years—and how they shaped his life. It’s sad at times, but also hopeful.
The memoir doesn’t rush—it's more contemplative, giving space for emotional depth and personal insight. Since it follows two distinct nine-year relationships, the narrative is structured around life’s turning points rather than fast-moving plot twists. The focus is more on internal shifts than external action, which means the pace may feel slower to someone whose expecting drama, but enriching for those drawn to emotional nuance. While it lingers on grief and love, moments of humor, theater anecdotes, and cultural detail keep it from becoming too heavy or stagnant.
I’d give Nine-Year Cycle a 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Memoirs are not usually my go to. It's deeply personal and unflinchingly candid about love, grief, and identity. It speaks meaningfully to queer history, the AIDS crisis, and the complexities of intercultural relationships.
Bottom line, even if memoirs aren’t your thing, this one reads like a long, emotional conversation—with enough honesty and heart to pull you in. It doesn’t demand that you relate to everything—it just asks you to listen. And sometimes, that’s the kind of book that lingers the longest.
Main Themes:
Love and loss
Grief and healing
Queer identity
Personal growth
Cultural conflict
Creativity as survival
Thank you, Trevor, for the opportunity to read Nine-Year Cycle through the LibraryThing giveaway.
Nine-Year Cycle is a real-life story about love, heartbreak, and finding yourself again. Trevor Jones tells us about two important relationships he had—each lasting nine years—and how they shaped his life. It’s sad at times, but also hopeful.
The memoir doesn’t rush—it's more contemplative, giving space for emotional depth and personal insight. Since it follows two distinct nine-year relationships, the narrative is structured around life’s turning points rather than fast-moving plot twists. The focus is more on internal shifts than external action, which means the pace may feel slower to someone whose expecting drama, but enriching for those drawn to emotional nuance. While it lingers on grief and love, moments of humor, theater anecdotes, and cultural detail keep it from becoming too heavy or stagnant.
I’d give Nine-Year Cycle a 4 out of 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Memoirs are not usually my go to. It's deeply personal and unflinchingly candid about love, grief, and identity. It speaks meaningfully to queer history, the AIDS crisis, and the complexities of intercultural relationships.
Bottom line, even if memoirs aren’t your thing, this one reads like a long, emotional conversation—with enough honesty and heart to pull you in. It doesn’t demand that you relate to everything—it just asks you to listen. And sometimes, that’s the kind of book that lingers the longest.
Main Themes:
Love and loss
Grief and healing
Queer identity
Personal growth
Cultural conflict
Creativity as survival
Thank you, Trevor, for the opportunity to read Nine-Year Cycle through the LibraryThing giveaway.
March 23, 2025
A heart-warming and brutally honest tale of love and loss, told with disarming candour and wit and much more than a showbiz biography. I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews