avatarJames Finn

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      <a href="https://readmedium.com/brad-grabs-his-balls-and-looks-death-in-the-eye-1f943558960">
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            <h2>Brad Grabs his Balls and Looks Death in the Eye</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of queer triumph and tragedy</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <h2>Brad Acts Up — Queer Hero Worship</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, cheating</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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      <a href="https://readmedium.com/brads-own-private-queer-nation-e4b712b82d4c">
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            <h2>Brad’s Own Private Queer Nation</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, seeking family</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <h2>Safe Sex is Hot Sex: Brad’s Act Up Groove</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, trying</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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      <a href="https://readmedium.com/brad-mom-a-snake-and-a-dead-movie-star-a12aff709cad">
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            <h2>Brad, Mom, a Snake, and a Dead Movie Star</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, grieving</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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      <a href="https://readmedium.com/brad-coffins-and-fighting-to-live-8a0543fa5548">
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            <h2>Brad, Coffins, and Fighting to Live</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, choosing</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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      <a href="https://readmedium.com/brad-love-and-buckets-of-blood-56ad858432f7">
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            <h2>Brad, Love, and Buckets of Blood</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, dying in</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <h2>Brad and Poison Blood on the Dark Side of the Moon</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, transforming</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <h2>Brad and AIDS, Brad and Friends</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, dying</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <h2>Brad, HIV, and Headless Goblins</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, galloping</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <h2>Mr. DeMille, Brad, and His KS Closeup</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, coming home</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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            <h2>Brad and Keith: Confessions of Kisses</h2>
            <div><h3>Portrait of a man, confronting</h3></div>
            <div><p>medium.com</p></div>
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    </div><p id="bfae"><i>James Finn is a long-time HIV/LGBTQ activist, an alumnus of Act Up NYC, an essayist occasionally published in queer news outlets, and an “agented” novelist. Send questions, comments, and story ideas to [email protected].</i></p></article></body>

Brad’s Story

Flaming bright and flickering, chapters

Image licensed from Adobe Stock

Once upon a time when I was young and horizons were promises, I loved a beautiful boy who showed me life can hold great beauty even when it flickers out just as it begins.

Brad burned brightest during the height of the AIDS crisis of the early 1990s. He stood up and made himself matter despite rejection, pain, loneliness, and fear.

He reached out for love.

Some will say Brad failed. Some will see in him a hero. I see a friend who deserves to be celebrated.

This is his story, all the joy, pain, despair, and triumph of it.

What follows is a fictionalized biography. All events are true as Brad told them to me. I have researched settings and dates to make the story as accurate as possible, while imagining some dialogue and minor detail. You can click on the chapters linked below or, once inside the story, click internal links to move forward or backward.

James Finn is a long-time HIV/LGBTQ activist, an alumnus of Act Up NYC, an essayist occasionally published in queer news outlets, and an “agented” novelist. Send questions, comments, and story ideas to [email protected].

LGBTQ
HIV
Biography
History
Love
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