LIFE IN FULL SWING
JAKE SHEARS DELIVERS A MEMOIR FULL OF ANXIETY, FEAR AND PAIN BUT IT’S STILL A JOYFUL INSPIRATION
WORDS: ULI LENART
BOOKS
BOOK OF THE MONTH
BOYS KEEP SWINGING: A MEMOIR
Jake Shears/Omnibus Press
→ Taking its title from Bowie’s hit song, this is the exuberant new memoir from Scissor Sisters’ frontman Jake Shears. It’s the story of finding your people, your passion and your voice; then using it — and the author has plenty of good times with hot guys along the way. In energetic prose, Jake Shears, or Jason Sellards as he’s known to family and friends, reveals a personal story of growing up effeminate and different in Arizona and the Seattle area before moving to New York City in the late Nineties. He writes candidly about wrestling with his body image and the tension between his attraction to boys and the influence of his Christian upbringing. He also recalls loneliness, bullying, sexual awakening, the fear of Aids, and finding solace and inspiration in his love of music. The New York section, in which Shears becomes a go-go boy and founds Scissor Sisters, is enthralling. His love of literature, music and creativity radiates from the page, as does his infectious lust for life. Fantastic. 29 March