Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
We Can Be Heroes cover art

We Can Be Heroes

By: Paul Burston
Narrated by: Paul Burston
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $28.99

Buy Now for $28.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

"This memoir is brutally honest… Wonderful!”–Russell T. Davies

Activist. Journalist. Survivor. One man’s journey from prejudice to Pride.

Paul Burston wasn’t always the iconic voice of LGBTQ+ London that he is today. Paul came out in the mid-1980s, when ‘gay’ still felt like a dirty word, especially in the small Welsh town where he grew up. He moved to London hoping for a happier life, only to watch in horror as his new-found community was decimated by AIDS. But even in the depths of his grief, Paul vowed never to stop fighting back on behalf of his young friends whose lives were cut tragically short.

It’s a promise he’s kept to this day. As an activist he stormed the House of Commons during the debate over the age of consent. As a journalist he spoke up for the rights of the community at a time of tabloid homophobia and legal inequality. As a novelist he founded the groundbreaking Polari Prize.

But his lifestyle hid a dark secret, and Paul’s demons—shame, trauma, grief—stalked him on every corner. In an attempt to silence them, he began to self-medicate.

From almost drowning at eighteen to a near-fatal overdose at thirty-eight, this is Paul’s story of what happened in the twenty years between, and how he carved out a life that his teenage self could scarcely have imagined. Emotional but often witty, We Can Be Heroes is an illuminating memoir of the eighties, nineties and noughties from a gay man who only just survived them.

©2023 Paul Burston (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

Critic Reviews

“Journalist Paul Burston narrates his memoir about growing up gay in South Wales, his transformation into an AIDS activist and author in London, and the establishment of Polari salon in 2007 and the first Polari Prize in 2011.… His narration is clear and understated. He lets the drama of events speak for themselves. The result is an audiobook that is an intimate conversation—a story of powerful emotions told simply.”AudioFile Magazine

“A compelling and hugely enjoyable memoir about a fearless life lived to the full.”—Bernardine Evaristo, author of the Booker Prize winning Girl, Woman, Other

“This memoir is brutally honest…Wonderful!”—Russell T. Davies

More from the same

What listeners say about We Can Be Heroes

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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.