Stonewall Strong is a tour de force, interweaving John-Manuel Andriote's personal journey with a trenchant analysis of societal transformation. He recounts the harrowing early days of the recognition of the devastation of AIDS, his responses to becoming HIV-infected, while insightfully telling the parallel narrative of the evolution of the LGBT community, from pre-Liberation, to crisis management and beyond. He skillfully educates the reader how the lessons learned from addressing the epidemic have laid the foundations for a stronger, more resilient community. The book is well-written, compelling, and highly informative.— Kenneth Mayer, MD, Infectious Disease Attending and Director of HIV Prevention Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Medical Research Director,The Fenway Institute
John-Manuel Andriote’s message in his latest book manages to be both simple and complex all at once; and most importantly, relevant to people from all walks of life who have needed to find their inner resilience in order to rise above their personal struggles.— The Norwich Bulletin
As John-Manuel Andriote writes about himself, he tells, in bits and pieces, the story of us all. How the LGBTQ community refuse to lay down and die (literally) and fought back with resilience for our place in the American society and how we did not go "quietly into the night." Andriote's book, Stonewall Strong, is truth telling at its best! — Rev. Troy D. Perry, founder, Metropolitan Community Church
Andriote's journey to discover how he made those affirming choices to be resilient led to his latest book, "Stonewall Strong: Gay Men's Heroic Fight for Resilience, Good Health, and a Strong Community" (Rowman & Littlefield). He writes about the traumas in his own life, drawing from journals he kept since 1980, and how he managed to stay sane, hopeful, and optimistic. Drawing from leading-edge research and almost 100 original interviews, he shows how gay men have been resilient before Stonewall, through the AIDS years, and onward to marriage equality.
— Bay Area Reporter
This multifaceted book invites readers on a journey through Andriote’s life—starting from scratch in a lower middle-class abusive household to the trials and triumphs of learning to respect oneself in relationships—sexual and otherwise.
— Windy City Times
All of this [Andriote’s] research is woven together in a remarkable volume showing that individually and collectively, gay people have proven to be tough, thriving, resilient folk.
— thebody.com
Stonewall Strong is in many ways quite remarkable. John-Manuel Andriote has combined his own personal story of being a PLWHIV with an amazingly detailed examination of how the LGBTQ community refused to lie down and die and instead formed a genuine community to care for one another, to fight our government’s indifference, to combat pharmaceutical companies’ greed, and to erase the stigma that, unfortunately, continues to attach to HIV/AIDS to this day.
— Art & Understanding Magazine
Andriote argues that gay men face an inherent obstacle of being marginalized for their sexuality, which forces them to find resilience and strength within themselves to fight back. . . . It is a story of resilience that Andriote tells with personal commitment and passion.
— The Gay & Lesbian Review
Beginning with the famed 1969 Stonewall Riots, to the initial shock of the early years of dealing with the crisis, and pushing onwards to the fight for marriage equality and basic human rights for all, Andriote has penned an informative and insightful yet touching work that will resonate deeply with readers.
— HIVPlus Magazine
Through his own personal experiences, Andriote tells a much larger story of a societal transformation marked by historic psychological resilience in the face of antigay stigma, discrimination, and outright hatred. It is a story that will inspire any reader, regardless of their sexual orientation.
— Psych Central
Stonewall Strong is a tour de force, interweaving John-Manuel Andriote's personal journey with a trenchant analysis of societal transformation. He recounts the harrowing early days of the recognition of the devastation of AIDS, his responses to becoming HIV-infected, while insightfully telling the parallel narrative of the evolution of the LGBT community, from pre-Liberation, to crisis management and beyond. He skillfully educates the reader how the lessons learned from addressing the epidemic have laid the foundations for a stronger, more resilient community. The book is well-written, compelling, and highly informative.
— Kenneth Mayer, MD, Infectious Disease Attending and Director of HIV Prevention Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center; professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Medical Research Director,The Fenway Institute
As John-Manuel Andriote writes about himself, he tells, in bits and pieces, the story of us all. How the LGBTQ community refuse to lay down and die (literally) and fought back with resilience for our place in the American society and how we did not go "quietly into the night." Andriote's book, Stonewall Strong, is truth telling at its best!
— Rev. Troy D. Perry, founder, Metropolitan Community Church
Andriote skillfully integrates history and science with compelling personal stories -- his own and those of the many people he interviewed -- to create a highly readable narrative of men’s resilience and thriving in the face of antigay stigma and the HIV epidemic. Stonewall Strong will inform and inspire readers of all sexual orientations and genders.
— Gregory M. Herek, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Davis; Author of the blog Beyond Homophobia (www.beyondhomophobia.com/)
Following the euphoria of Stonewall and the 1970s, we were suddenly under siege on three fronts. . . Through the trauma of these times, gay men persevered, survived, and even flourished. It is a story of resilience that Andiote tells with personal commitment and passion.
—