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Straight Jacket

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Straight Jacket

By: Matthew Todd
Narrated by: Matthew Todd
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About this listen

Random House presents the audio edition of Straight Jacket, written and read by Matthew Todd.

Winner Boyz best LGBT book 2017

Short-listed for the Polari book prize 2017

Straight Jacket is a revolutionary clarion call for gay men, the wider LGBT community, their friends and family. Part memoir, part groundbreaking polemic, it looks beneath the shiny facade of contemporary gay culture and asks if gay people are as happy as they could be - and if not, why not?

Meticulously researched, courageous and life-affirming, Straight Jacket offers invaluable practical advice on how to overcome a range of difficult issues. It also recognises that this is a watershed moment, a piercing wake-up call to arms for the gay and wider community to acknowledge the importance of supporting all young people - and helping older people to transform their experience and finally get the lives they really want.

©2018 Matthew Todd (P)2018 Random House Audiobooks Gay Studies LGBTQ+ Studies Mental Health Personal Development Personal Success Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Relationships Health

Critic Reviews

"This is an essential read for every gay person on the planet." (Elton John)
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This book is simply amazing from the first page. It has helped me understand so much about being gay and the toxic shame that I’ve been carrying and how to do the work to release it and live a happy life. I’d recommend it to all !!!!

Absolutely brilliant!

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I feel very privileged to have been able to read a book so accurate & insightful as 'Straight Jacket'.
For me, this must read for those in or around the Rainbow Community (specifically Gay Men) was a true 'connector of the dots' to help articulate & explain a lifetime of conscious / unconscious default patterns and / or 'addictions' stemming from the societal pressures indoctrinated before we're even born!
To hear Mr Todd's own personal experiences & the histories of others (some at the forefront of Gay Culture past & present), was so very relating & in-turn healing upon the evolving quest to live a fully authentic existence as a Gay man in 2020 & beyond.
Having previously read the equally sublime 'The Velvet Rage' by Mr Alan Downs, 'Straight Jacket' continues to explore & delve into the deep themes around Gay Shame, with both books working in tandem harmoniously together, in my opinion.
With so much vital content (somewhat confronting at times), I found the Audible version easy to digest, perhaps due to Mr Todd's own narration of the book & tone of voice around certain subjects / insights.
I hope all readers get as much out of this book as I did, it was a true gift!

A Truly Amazing Book!

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I read this book as a follow up to Alan Downs’ ‘The Velvet Rage’ hoping it would be a more positive and self-help focused text.

How wrong I was. Instead Todd focuses on extreme cases often in the public media that don’t represent the mainstream experiences of gay men.

Whilst some aspects of the book, gay men will be able to relate to, the audience that Todd is trying to reach such as those who are alcoholics or attend chemsex parties sadly are unlikely to read books or listen to audiobooks that drag on for hours.

I would not recommend this book. It’s a depressing negative read that does not live up to its subtitle of ‘...and happy’.

Extremely negative and unhelpful

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.