Never Silent

ACT UP and My Life in Activism

By: Peter Staley

Narrated by: Peter Staley

In 1987, somebody shoved a flyer into the hand of Peter Staley: Massive AIDS demonstration, it announced. After four years on Wall Street as a closeted gay man, Staley was familiar with the homophobia common on trading floors. He also knew that he was not beyond the reach of HIV, having recently been diagnosed with AIDS-related complex.

A week after the protest, Staley found his way to a packed meeting of the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power - ACT UP - in the West Village. It would prove to be the best decision he ever made. ACT UP would change the course of AIDS, pressuring the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and three administrations to finally respond with research that ultimately saved millions of lives.

Staley, a shrewd strategist with nerves of steel, organized some of the group's most spectacular actions, from shutting down trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to putting a giant condom over the house of Senator Jesse Helms. Never Silent is the inside story of what brought Staley to ACT UP and the explosive and sometimes painful years to follow - years filled with triumph, humiliation, joy, loss, and persistence.

©2022 Peter Staley (P)2021 Tantor

Amazing Piece of History

I have always admired Peter Staley for his work and activism. This book seals it for me. I will continue to look up to him.

Recharge your activism battery

A compelling, funny, candid story that can remind you what you love about activism. Feels like the author is sitting across from you hours after dinner has ended but there’s still a little more wine, one more piece of cake everyone is taking smaller and smaller bites of, while everyone waits for someone else to go home first.

Amazing history from someone who was there.

A must read for history but more importantly to remind us of our own power as a community.

Perfection!

This book means everything to me. It was impossible not to break down an cry as I relived those periods on my life. Beautiful memoir and beautifully done complete with a call to action. Thank you Peter Staley. ❤️

Important history

This book gives a tantalizing account of someone on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic. While showing the reader what life after 1997 is for the survivors. This story matters and should be remembered.