Goodreads asked James Brandon:

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

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.

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