PIHM Book Review: We Can Be Heroes by Paul Burston
Genre: Non-Fiction - Memoir
Age: Adult
Format: ebook
Although our focus during Pride in Horror is on queer voices in dark fiction, we’ve always tried to include queer history during Pride Month, too. Queer history is so incredibly important – for the most part, we’ve relied a lot on word of mouth to pass on our history, and historians have had to dig through rumours and gossip to unearth queer stories. For a large part of history, to be queer was to be hidden. In my own life, I’ve gone from hearing very little about queer people, seeing no acknowledgment that queer people exist in school (thanks Section 28!), to seeing pride flags hanging in educational institutes, and seeing queer folks living openly and authentically.
That is, largely (particularly in the UK), thanks to people like Paul Burston. The cover image itself says a lot about who Burston is, a photo taken of him during an Act Up demonstration.
Burston left his hometown in South Wales to move to London in the 1980s, seeking acceptance. What follows in the book is an account of a man who experienced a lot of grief at a young age, and who channelled that into fighting on behalf of all queer folks, while battling his own inner demons.
Burston’s memoir is a powerfully moving one, but it has it’s witty, lighter moments here, too. From humble beginnings in Bridgend, South Wales, Paul slowly builds his life, while watching his community breaking around him. He talks pretty frankly of his experiences, the positive and the negative, the people he’s loved, many he’s also lost, and the people who had an impact on his life, whether it’s David Bowie’s iconic music, or the people who he protested alongside. It is a fascinating story, and largely one of grief, of struggling through the darkness and emerging the other side. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything, either, or make himself out to be someone he isn’t, talking frankly about the scenes he found himself in and his addictions.
This is the kind of memoir I think it’s important for most queer folks to read, especially younger folks who were born and grew up from the 90s onwards. It gives an excellent insight into what life was like for gay men during an incredibly challenging period. It’s also a glimpse into culture as it was then and right up to the last few years, as Burston details his experiences in the queer scene and the people he met there.
This is an excellent memoir that is heartfelt and witty, and one I highly recommend.
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter: @elleturpitt
Bluesky: @elleturpitt.bsky.social
I purchased this ebook.
