We Both Laughed In Pleasure: The Selected Diaries of Lou Sullivan

Firstly--my three stars have nothing to do with Lou's words. Reading his diaries has been a joy.My issues are with the editors, in both their editing choices and their choices of cover. Why couldn't they just put a photo of Lou? Or something--dare I say anything?--other than a naked butt? I'm a conservative gay man in Wisconsin and, while the interior content (i.e. Lou's sexually-explicit musings) don't bother me at all, I'm not comfortable carrying this with me on the bus to work (let alone to work at all). Between the title (which is frankly beautiful, and could work well if paired with a tasteful cover) and the naked butt, it looks to a casual passer-by like erotica. Stupendously awkward--which is rather a shame, because who wants a book they can only read at home?As for their editing--it honestly feels to me like they mangled Lou's diaries. Perhaps not intentionally (after all, we're talking thirty years of near-daily journaling), but their choices leave me scratching my head. For example, in one entry Lou comments that he wishes he could learn how to have sex "like a gay man", and in another entry not a few pages onward he mentions doing so with a new lover, as if he's learned the practicalities in the interim. (When? How? With whom?)And while I appreciate the editors' choice to leave out each day's "Dear Diary" . . . that they left out the dates of the entries is egregious. It makes it difficult to follow what happens when, how much time has passed, etc., leaving the reading of his diaries feeling like I'm reading a work of fiction by a writer who has no idea how to strike a plot.I also wish the editors had included entries other than his musings on sex and sexuality. Surely he wrote about more than that? Again, without the dates, it's hard to tell, but I felt like I had a really incomplete picture of Lou. That said, the blurb from the publisher on one of the last pages (describing itself as publishing "sacred pornography") perhaps speaks for itself. Maybe that's all they wanted to focus on--Lou's sexuality. Weirdly enough there's comparatively very little about his transition, which was at least part of what attracted me to this book in the first place.Oh--and one thing I noticed is that the editors aren't consistent with redacting information, such as names. The prominent three or four lovers in Lou's life are reduced to a single letter for their name, while everyone else gets their full name (insofar as Lou knew it, such as Beau) published, including friends and family members. I can understand, to a certain extent, leaving Lou's family (their names are available via public records, I'm sure)--but his friends? It almost feels like they tried to maintain confidentiality, but only in half-measures.Also, for those whose eyes fatigue easily or who get headaches from reading high-contrast materials, the paper is screaming-bright white. (I prefer cream paper myself, but alas.) Just FYI.Long and short: I love this book for Lou, and I can understand why it's so popular / highly rated--because it's unique, and probably the first documentation of its kind. Unfortunately I think that blinds many people to the glaring flaws in the editing, which is--cover aside--the biggest flaw that renders the book almost unreadable.

The life journey of a most inspiring and fascinating human being. Lou Sullivan's diaries, well edited here, take us inside the heart and brilliant mind of a most remarkable life well spent.

Entries too selective but I don't know the original material well enough to criticize. Sullivan doesn't come across as someone I would have wanted to know in person. A sympathetic film bio would help understand him better. Maybe some day ...

I love this book. I'm a gay trans man and I've heard other trans men talk about Lou, I figured I should check out his diaries. I had no idea I would find so much of myself in him, our stories are so similar. I truly feel like I've made a friend by reading this book. If you're a gay trans man, I strongly suggest reading this book and learning more about Lou because he paved the way for us.

Still in the middle but it is a pleasure to get to experience the authentic voice of such an important trans rights advocate

A most beautiful book, an amazing life.

absoloutely louve it

Activist and author Lou Sullivan (1951-1991) was a pioneer in the grassroots female-to-male (FTM) transgender movement and is generally recognized as the first transgender man to publicly identify as gay. For years, because he identified as gay, he was denied medical services and sex reassignment surgery. At the time, doctors believed that transgender people should adopt stereotypical heterosexual opposite-sex gender roles. At age 14, Sullivan wrote, "My problem is that I can't accept life for what it is... like it is presented to me. I feel there is something deep and wonderful underneath that no one has found." Moving from Milwaukee to San Francisco, Sullivan worked as a woman but cross-dressed and lived as a gay man.Finally, at age 28, Sullivan was able to find doctors to help him transition despite his sexual orientation, with testosterone and a double mastectomy. He brought visibility to trans men by founding FTM International and writing a guidebook for FTM seeking to transition. In 1986, he underwent genital reconstruction surgery and discovered he was HIV+. Sullivan's diaries are fascinating and eye-opening as well as educational, informative and refreshingly raunchy as he tries to find his place on the sexual landscape.After his HIV diagnosis, the trans pioneer and AIDS activist wrote, "A big fear of mine is that I will die before the gender professionals acknowledge that someone like me exists, and then I really won't exist to prove them wrong." Sullivan's heartbreaking, self-effacing and inspiring diaries are a roadmap and history for trans people.Three decades of fascinating and inspiring diary entries document the life and loves of female-to-male transsexual pioneer Lou Sullivan.