God's Other Children

''Remarkable''...''Beautifully written'' ...''Devastatingly honest''... In his non-fiction book, God''s Other Children: A London Memoir, Vernal Scott writes:"A dignified death by the symptoms of old age was not to be our kind fate. Abandoned and alone in the fight of our lives, wider society, influenced by the vicious media, deemed us deserving of our suffering: our crippling fear; our unimaginable pain; our unyielding tears prompted by precious last goodbyes; our deaths. Our dashed...
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''Remarkable''...''Beautifully written'' ...''Devastatingly honest''... In his non-fiction book, God''s Other Children: A London Memoir, Vernal Scott writes:"A dignified death by the symptoms of old age was not to be our kind fate. Abandoned and alone in the fight of our lives, wider society, influenced by the vicious media, deemed us deserving of our suffering: our crippling fear; our unimaginable pain; our unyielding tears prompted by precious last goodbyes; our deaths. Our dashed hopes and dreams were destined to lie among the ashes of the cremation furnaces that would consume what AIDS had already destroyed. It was only yesterday that we were sweating up the dancefloor to I Feel Love and I Will Survive, and we had every reason to believe that we would do just that; survive and thrive. It was only yesterday that the very idea of an early death was so ridiculously inconceivable, but our fleshless reflection in the bathroom mirror was confirmation that the good times had turned. A big disease with a little name was now playing Russian roulette with our lives. Swallowed up by clothes that no longer fit, it was now the survival of, not the fittest or most determined, but simply, it seemed, the luckiest. Stunned by the cruelty of our physical disintegration and the terror-inducing reality of our imminent death, AIDS had sabotaged our far too temporary rendezvous with happiness and the illusion of longevity of life that we assumed had been promised by our birth. When our mothers delivered us into the world, their tears of joy and precious first kiss belied our pending fate and the fact that our eager infant eyes would mature only long enough to cry a tortured goodbye. AIDS would summon our mothers'' tears again; this time to moisten the soil that would bury us. Our deaths was splashed across the daily press as grotesque entertainment for the ignorant and heartless; who ridiculed us in our plight, but who would never, themselves, be capable of the extraordinary courage that it took to be a person living with AIDS."You will experience this exceptionally different book as if it''s reading you. It''s that powerful. Referred to as the UK''s ''Philadelphia in print'' (the award-winning film starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington), this emotional whirlwind of a personal story includes the controversial ''New Atheist'' chapter, ''The Circumcision of Religion''. In his prologue, Vernal writes:"It is my long held view that sexual activity between consenting adults, of whatever sexuality, is no one else''s business. Our penises, vaginas, nipples, butts, ears, lips and every other erogenous zone exist to be enjoyed without guilt, shame, or fear. Only an odd god would spend his time looking down from heaven at what I do with my penis while millions of adults and children regularly die of war, terror, starvation, preventable disease, and natural disasters. That would be a very odd god, indeed! To continue to believe in god, despite life''s harsh reminders of his absence, would be to engage in a kind of spiritual masturbation; pleasuring oneself with fantasies of an imaginary supernatural lover, whose prowess can stimulate his indoctrinated believers, from the seamstress in Jamaica to the President of the United States, to an orgasmic "Hallelujah!" whilst remaining completely invisible to them." Rightly shortlisted for the coveted Polari First Book Prize and recommended by WH Smith and notables such as Peter Tatchell, this self-published work represents perhaps the most intimate portrayal of people directly affected by (HIV and) AIDS ever written. With 35 million infected and another 35 million deaths, the author finds himself at the forefront of the UK''s 1980s and 90s response to the crisis; walking in his shoes the reader lives the pain and tears of too many premature goodbyes. The various accounts make tearful, heartbreaking reading, especially when AIDS comes home... Vernal''s writing is as haunting as it is compelling. See the reader reviews.