Growing up gay in Brooklyn in the 60s, Steven found that nobody knew what to do with him. Despairing, bullied by the guys at the corner candy store, he went to the back of his grandfather's bra and girdle store, punched the glass pane out of a window and sawed his wrists and forearms on the shards of glass, narrowly avoiding death. His grandfather got him a private room in one of the most exclusive psychiatric hospitals in the world. A young psychiatrist there promised to cure him of his homosexuality, and he found out conversion therapy didn’t work; a Broadway producer who was in the hospital opened a new world for him. He’s now comfortable with himself and a journalist, novelist and biographer who has chronicled some of the 20th century’s most notable artists such as the Beatles and fashion designer Halston. He’s been through the worst and come out on top – a truly inspiring story proving that it does get better.

Learn more about Steven Gaines: stevengaines.com