I'm glad I listened to the afterward, where Cleve Jones explains how he wanted to focus on his life before the HIV/AIDS epidemic. To me, this part of his book was magical. It felt like a completely different person wrote the rest, and it helps to know that his intent was to show the beauty of queer life before the plague. I almost think this book could have been just the Before. The latter parts read as a list of people and interactions. Both the style and content was depressing. Sure, ACT/UP was probably cliquey and critiques are warranted, but from that point on in the book, it's as if Cleve Jones becomes a compromised politician, devoid of passion, rage, and life. I'm not sure I would have been any different if I survived the epidemic, but it's still sad. There are moments of insight, like his unease with fighting for inclusion in a military that draftees once faked being gay to avoid. I loved hearing his reading and his voice throughout and recommend the audiobook.

Bonus points for the telling of how Dianne Feinstein came to prominence, through the murders of Harvey Milk and George Moscone. She was a terrible moderate then, and a terrible moderate now.