We Can Be Heroes: A Survivor's Story

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She also famously posed for Lucian Freud. The portrait, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, became the most expensive painting by a living artist. I know and love Paul Burston, and now I get to know and love his book too! Driven by the need to get out of his small Welsh town and, later, driven by a sense of mortality brought on by the ravages of HIV/Aids in the community, Burston had achieved a great deal by the age of thirty. Described as the 'enfant terrible' of gay UK journalism, he was also regularly off his face on an impressive amount of chemicals. Some constants kept him afloat - the love of his mother, cousin Elaine, sister Jac and 'Auntie' Alma - and his love of David Bowie, which kept him going for years (and still does). In addition to being the author of 10 books, including four non-fiction titles, I’m also the editor of two short collections and have over 30 years experience as a journalist and editor. Neil's heroes and heroines include Bette Bourne, Bette Midler, Juan Goytisolo, Rose Marie and Siouxsie Sioux. Declan C, reviewer - ‘Paul ’ s wonderful book adds another essential history to the era of LGBTQ activism in the midst of the Aids catastrophe. Frankly, there can ’ t be enough of these personal histories of that time - and this is sure to resonate with audiences who lived through it and the ones that are just learning about the horrors (and inspiration) of that period from shows like It ’ s A Sin. ’

Bowie’s music followed Paul wherever he went: when he moved to London aged nineteen, when he attended his first Pride, when the AIDS pandemic was raging and homophobia was on the rise.When men, women, nonbinary folx, and children are harassed and belittled, not just by the odd passerby, as has been deemed “acceptable” throughout most of the ‘00s, but by the very government of which we are supposedly a crucial part; when the so-called democratic republic no longer represents its constituents, that is a fight worth fighting. But his lifestyle hid a dark secret, and Paul’s demons—shame, trauma, grief—stalked him on every corner. In an attempt to silence them, he began to self-medicate.

We Can Be Heroes is on one level a very personal insight into a man whom I’m honoured to call a dear friend. However, on another level it is an educational piece, it is the story which should have been shared during those less enlightened Section 28 days, it should be read by all those younger people who are still coming to terms with their sexuality or feeling the loneliness and shame of abuse or bullying. We Can Be Heroes is the story of hope, hard work and salvation. I need to begin this review with a content warning. This review mentions the AIDS crisis, violence against LGBTQ+ folx, discrimination, PTSD, drug abuse, and sexual assault. I try to approach these issues with tact, but you may want to avoid this review if these topics are just too raw for you. Many workshop participants have gone on to perform at Polari salon and had their work published or performed at other venues and festivals.It’s a promise he’s kept to this day. As an activist he stormed the House of Commons during the debate over the age of consent. As a journalist he spoke up for the rights of the community at a time of tabloid homophobia and legal inequality. As a novelist he founded the groundbreaking Polari Prize. groundbreaking gay activism over many decades to the wild years of intoxication and compulsive sex, I so admired Burston ’s ruthless honesty and brave emotional vulner ability. ’ Burston's writing style is honest and engaging, and his storytelling is both entertaining and informative. We can be heroes is a memoir filled with anecdotes and personal experiences that paint a vivid picture of what it was and it is like to be queer in the UK. From CND marches, to Stop The Clause campaign, ACT UP, and a lot more. It’s only through that, and the power of social media, that I’ve become more aware of just who Paul Burston really is, and of the kind of things he has achieved in his life, a far cry from the young boy who grew up on an estate in a small Welsh town. And achieved is probably underselling his story in all honesty as it was more of a fight in all senses of the word than a simple right of passage. Reading We Can Be Heroes has been a real eye opener, not just because of all of the things that Paul Burston has experienced, but also as a testament to the history of gay rights, and the fight for equality, within the UK. It’s not a part of history that I know much about, it has no direct relevance to me or my life as such, but this is still a story which has moved me, enraged me and made me very glad that I chose to read it. I’d advocate for others to do so too, irrespective of sexual orientation or personal history. The book, of course, is also about the Aids plague, and its devastating effects. Not only did it cause illness and death, but led to homophobia becoming rife in Britain. It became a very unsafe place for visibly gay men, like Burston.