A Personal Peek into the Challenges, the Conflicts, the Dangers and Successes of a Great Depression Kid, Awakening to his Homosexuality

A 92 year old gay man’s lifetime recollections, takes the reader back to The Great Depression as it morphed into World War II, when in 1943, he was outed a queer in his junior year of high school, when homosexuality a scarlet letter that branded him pariah among his peers. Social rejection and scorn, verbal abuse became a daily dose that wiped out his social standing.
 
Thus begins a narrative of survival and growth, an escape into the US Navy, and an exciting eventful lifetime that subdued the memory of those dark high school days. And what a life it was as spelled out in this documentary. The density, richness and historic relevance of a very personal narrative, are mind boggling.
 
The book consists, primarily, of a series of insights/opinions that the author wrote for various publications throughout the Palm Springs and the Los Angeles/San Diego area. As his loyal readers quickly learned, his columns are full of political steam and covered local topics as well as themes of deep human interest. Included are reflections back through time, a sprinkling of poetry, a couple eulogies, letters to the editor, and a keynote speech.
 
Through Daryl’s story, we learn what it was like to be a Gay man in the Great Depression in Middle America and in later years, the terror of being set-up and arrested by a vice-squad or being preyed upon by violent homophobes. Serving in the U.S. Navy during WWII and Korea, he has a different take on both wars. Choosing advertising as a career, he has worked on Madison Avenue and Hollywood, surviving both McCarthyism and the AIDS epidemic, suffering great loss as a result of each.
 
His story and the stories of the men and women he’s loved, strikes a huge chord in our society today. Now quickly headed for age 93, he continues his love for the written word and a reverence for history.
 
Know more about James and his works on his website, www.daryljamesjrauthor.com.
 
 
 
A Gay Man’s Odyssey Through the 20th Century and Beyond
Written by Daryl L. James Jr.
Kindle | $5.49
Paperback | $15.99
 
Book copies are available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online book retailers.
 
 
About the Author
Daryl L James, Jr. was born in Wheaton, Illinois, in 1926, received a B.A. in Journalism from Iowa University in 1950. Following an advertising career that took him from Lockheed Aircraft to magazine publishing, he ran several Bed and Breakfast boutique hotels in Palm Springs, where he has lived the past thirty years, a passionate activist for gay rights, particularly gay rights in the U.S. Military.
 

Contact Information

Finn Nolan

Marketing Fulfillment Officer

LitFire Publishing

Contact via E-mail