Lou Sullivan diary, 1987

Lou Sullivan's diary for January-August 1987, written at the age of 36 and beginning immediately after his AIDS diagnosis. Sullivan used this diary volume to reflect on his life, confront his feelings about death, and consider how to best use his remaining time. He continued his involvement with the trans men's organization FTM, with the gay disabled community, and with the Gay and Lesbian Historical Society of Northern California. He also worked on his book about Jack Garland and explored his sexuality after bottom surgery (Sullivan had successfully advocated to have a planned additional procedure completed after his AIDS diagnosis). Sullivan expressed a complex grief about the timing of his diagnosis, which arrived just as he'd completed his plans for medical transition; he still felt like an outsider in the gay community and to society at large, and began to focus on connecting with his communities, even as his time grew short. Louis Graydon Sullivan (1951-1991) was a gay trans man from Milwaukee, WI who lived much of his adult life in San Francisco. A diarist, amateur historian, and administrative assistant, Sullivan is best known for the detailed and thoughtful diary he kept from childhood until his death from AIDS at age 39.

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Item Information:

Identifier: ft848r01p
Collection: Lou Sullivan Collection
Institution: GLBT Historical Society
Creator(s): Sullivan, Lou
Date Created: 1987
Dates Covered: 1987
Genre: Diaries
Places: California > San Francisco County > San Francisco
Topic(s): Death
Gay disabled people
Gay men
Grief
HIV/AIDS
Trans men
Transgender disabled people
Resource Type: Text
Analog Format: Diary
Digital Format: PDF file, 58.2 MB
Language: English
Rights: In copyright
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