Book cover of Banned from California

Book description

A Gripping Biography of a Gay Trailblazer

Jim Foshee had always known that he was different. Born in 1939 to a conservative family, he longed for a place where he could be himself and find love. At the age of 15, he decided to take matters into his own hands…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Banned from California as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love this book because it is a nearly unbelievable tale of human resilience and a timely reminder that not so long ago, queers had bigger problems than micro-aggressions and pronouns. Jim Foshee had the gay life you don’t want. By age fourteen, he had been abused by his mother, his step-father, a reform school, a mental hospital, police, older kids at a juvenile jail, and a judge.

The only love he had received was from a drag queen who had taken him off the street and her partner, and for this, they were tried and nearly imprisoned. Jim was…

From Bob's list on the lives of gay men.

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These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancĆ©, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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