A NORTH Yorkshire author has written a new book telling the untold women’s stories from the AIDS epidemic.
Dancing in Heaven, by Suzanne Elvidge, was launched on World AIDS Day December 1 and brings recollections from the 1980s to life.
Publishing by Reconnecting Rainbows, the book is a moving and lyrical collection of monologues, inspired by the female characters in Russell T Davies’ television series It’s A Sin.
Suzanne, who lives near Fylingthorpe, said: "Dancing in Heaven tells the stories of women from all walks of life who played often unrecognised roles in the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.
"In 1981, the medical journal The Lancet reported the first case of AIDS in the UK. By the end of the decade, hundreds were dead: mostly young, mostly gay, mostly men. Across the country, women were there. Mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, lovers, professionals. They cared, cleaned, cooked, coped, cried and campaigned. They lost people they loved. And they went to endless funerals.
"Dancing in Heaven celebrates the voices of these women – the loud ones and the unheard ones. Together, they represent strength, grief, anger, and an awful lot of love. While the monologues are fiction, the stories are real, drawn from conversations, press coverage, articles and the archives of Switchboard, the national LGBTQIA+ support line.
“World AIDS Day, marked on 1 December every year since 1988, unites people worldwide in the fight against HIV and AIDS, stands against stigma and remembers lives lost. It seems like a fitting day to release this book that highlights and celebrates the women who were there during the crisis and will help to ensure that their voices are not forgotten."
Ash Brockwell, Founder, Reconnecting Rainbows Press, said: “Dancing in Heaven reclaims a vital part of queer history, centring women’s roles in a narrative too often dominated by men. Each monologue stands alone in intimacy and strength, yet together they form a chorus that is tender, fierce, and unflinchingly honest.
“Suzanne’s background in both science and storytelling lends the collection a rare clarity of voice, balancing emotional resonance with historical depth. These stories speak not only to readers interested in LGBTQ+ history, but to anyone who understands the ache of absence, the power of remembrance, and the need to make space for voices that were never meant to be forgotten.”
A launch for Dancing in Heaven will take place in Scarborough on 6 December at 4-6 pm at The Shakespeare, 2-3 St Helen's Square, Scarborough YO11 1EU (part of the Scarborough Fair Fringe Winter Edition, in association with Big Queer Fringe and Scarborough Community Box Office) – for more information go to www.thehouseofcorrection.com/news/dancing-in-heaven-scarborough-launch
A donation will be made to Switchboard for each copy sold.
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