Holding the Man

The mid-seventies - and satin baggies and chunky platforms reigned supreme. Jethro Tull did battle with glam-rock for the airwaves. At an all-boys Catholic school in Melbourne, Timothy Conigrave fell wildly and sweetly in love with the captain of the football team. So began a relationship that was to last for 15 years, a love affair that weathered disapproval, separation and, ultimately death.

Holding the Man recreates that relationship. With honesty and insight it explores the highs and lows of any partnership: the intimacy, constraints, temptations. And the strength of heart both men had to find when they tested positive to HIV. This is a book as refreshing and uplifting as it is moving; a funny and sad and celebratory account of growing up gay.

Reviews

A remarkable achievement. With the Rolling Stones, Bryan Ferry, Violent Femmes, and INXS in the background, this memoir of a young man's coming of age at an all-boys Catholic High School is, above all, a stunning and engrossing love story." --Paul Breines, Boston College

"Amazingly more than the sum of its parts, a book to stir you up and knock you around and wring you out." --Peter Robb, Independent Monthly

"Full of candor, passion, and zest for life." --Leslie Cartwright, The Australia