Brave Face

A Memoir

By: Shaun David Hutchinson

Narrated by: Shaun David Hutchinson

A YALSA 2020 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Selection

“[P]rofound…a triumph—a full-throated howl to the moon to remind us why we choose to survive and thrive.” —Brendan Kiely, New York Times bestselling author of Tradition

“Razor-sharp, deeply revealing, and brutally honest…emotionally raw and deeply insightful.” —Booklist (starred review)

The critically acclaimed author of We Are the Ants opens up about what led to an attempted suicide in his teens, and his path back from the experience.

“I wasn’t depressed because I was gay. I was depressed and gay.”

Shaun David Hutchinson was nineteen. Confused. Struggling to find the vocabulary to understand and accept who he was and how he fit into a community in which he couldn’t see himself. The voice of depression told him that he would never be loved or wanted, while powerful and hurtful messages from society told him that being gay meant love and happiness weren’t for him.

A million moments large and small over the years all came together to convince Shaun that he couldn’t keep going, that he had no future. And so he followed through on trying to make that a reality.

Thankfully Shaun survived, and over time, came to embrace how grateful he is and how to find self-acceptance. In this courageous and deeply honest memoir, Shaun takes readers through the journey of what brought him to the edge, and what has helped him truly believe that it does get better.

Critic reviews

"Author and narrator Shaun David Hutchinson wants listeners to remember one thing: Never give up. This memoir is not about the highs in Hutchinson's life after he became a bestselling author—it's about the lowest of the lows. Through his own voice, he painfully recalls his younger years—the depression that compounded his confusion over his sexuality—he is gay—and his fear that the important people in his life would no longer accept him. In a clever literary device, his depression continually chimes in, speaking directly to him and egging him on to give up anytime he encountered difficulty. Hearing that depression brought to life through Hutchinson's own voice is chilling. Though Hutchinson's story includes some horrific events—preceded by trigger warnings—this is an important audiobook."

Mind blowing

I give this a full five stars and will be recommending it to people
This book made me realize there are parts to me that I didn’t know about. Parts of me that I now under stand better. I have struggled with depression before and I have had those bad thoughts before. This book has helped me. I have been scared of what life would bring. Scared of who I could or couldn’t become. And finally I was scared of hurting the people I love the most. I didn’t want them to know I hurt and that I have these thoughts. But now I truly believe that if these thoughts come around again and I go into the dark hole I have gone into before that I can and will ask for help. I have tried writing little stories before but they never really went far and I just ran out of ideas but after hearing this book and hearing about the ups and downs that he has had I feel inspired and feel as if I could write something that would actually work for me. Always remember and I will to that there is always hope and someone to go to.

Worth the time

I really loved this book. I identified with the story with the emotions and the man. my only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of five is I feel like it ended abruptly. you went to listening to detailed entries of his early life to a, ok shows over, feel. I still would recommend this book.

A Beautiful Story

This was a beautiful, real, and raw story of life. So many of us in the LGBTQ community feel this way and it was so refreshing to hear that we are not alone. This story is worth the listen.

Full transparency

I love how vulnerable and transparent he was able to be. This book really pulls on your heart strings.

Great memoir AND a top-notch YA story

Thank. You. Shaun! What a wonderful book and narration.

As a fellow depressive gay guy who lived his teens in the 90s (as well as a fellow fan of Patrick Stewart, Beautiful Thing, XY and whatnot), I found this so relatable I was compelled to spend a day of my foreign vacation just listening to the whole thing from beginning to the end.

The book was especially impressive in how I could enjoy it equally well as an honest memoir or a fluently progressing YA story.