An Autobiography
by

Craig Braquet

I sat one evening chatting with my friend Gavin Hurley catching up on old times. He's about 20 years younger than I am. He majored in computer sciences in college, so we had a lot in common. As I was sharing pieces of my life story, he commented on how many times I found myself involved with the very pivotal events which were defining the era that we were in. The free love 60's 70's and 80's. The AIDS crisis. The dawning of the computer age. The "Star Wars" US missile defense system, and the boom and bust of the dot com era.

I realized Gavin was right. Maybe there was something to be said here. I hope you find that something too as you read. Please leave me comments in my guestbook if anything moves you.

Foreword

If you are offended by frank portrayal of a gay person's life and times, you will probably be shocked by my writing, but If you've ever wondered what one persons life might be like, growing up with an angry alcoholic father, a dysfunctional family, realizing that you're gay, having your first sexual experiences, finding your first love, and all the things that make us human, read on.

I started writing late in the year 2000. So many troubling things were happening in my life at that time that my partner told me that I should write things down. He was afraid that I would forget about the tough resolutions I'd made on one day when faced with the emotional issues of the next. I agreed with him, and as the need to write grew, I found that writing helped me move on. When I first started, I was sure I was going to write about recent events, but when I began to put the first words down, I somehow knew I had to start from the beginning; from my earliest memories. As the words began to flow I felt such a feeling of relief. I knew it might take years to get to the things that happened during 2000, but once I began there was no turning back. The first 14 chapters became reality during 2000 and 2001. Life issues took precedence for a few years, and it wasn't until 2003 that I started writing again. This time I was amazed at how much of my life was bursting to come out. I began looking to other sources to help me in my writing. I'd never written dialogue before. I had no idea what voice, or "writing style" was. Along the way I found Writing the Memoir – from truth to art by Judith Barrington.

CHAPTER 1
WE COME INTO THIS WORLD NAKED AND CRYING, AND IT GOES DOWNHILL FROM THERE

CHAPTER 2
TRAILER PARK TRASH

CHAPTER 3
NO SANTA, NO EASTER BUNNY, WHATEVER SHALL I PLAY WITH NOW?

CHAPTER 4
THE FAMILY SETTLES IN THE SOUTH