Resilience: A Polemical Memoir of AIDS, Bears, and F*cking

Les K. Wright recounts his journey as a contemporary gay Candide. From grassroots activist to a member of the "forgotten generation" of long-term AIDS survivors, he recounts his struggles in academia and with alcoholism, all the while searching for love and self-knowledge.

"Wright spares very little-he is at times very hard on himself, but never gives into self-pity ... The book is shockingly frank sexually, but even more important, it is emotionally unsparing, rare in gay books that often shy away from the most genuine, painful, and raw feelings." -Perry Brass, author of A Real Life

"Les K. Wright takes readers on a journey from the suffocating conformity of the 1950s in rural New York, through the radicalism of gay liberation and the trauma of AIDS, all the way to our ambiguous present. Resilience raises challenging questions about sex, suffering, and the failures of queer revolution." -Tyler Bradway, coeditor of Queer Kinship

"In his fascinating, often wrenching, roller-coaster-ride of a memoir, Wright takes us through his long-enduring search for love, acceptance, community, meaningful work, and a place to truly feel at home. Resilience reads like a history of a half-century of American gay life, condensed into one man's very intimate story." -Wayne Hoffman, author of An Older Man and Hard

"Resilience reminds us of the power of the human spirit to survive and thrive even under the most difficult conditions. As told in these pages, Les K. Wright's life has the power to inspire and give hope." -John D'Emilio, author of Memories of a Gay Catholic Boyhood: Coming of Age in the Sixties