"I felt finally empowered enough and also ready to be vulnerable enough to tell a story that was much more emotionally autobiographical. It tells a story close to home, of a young immigrant from Iran moving to New York and coming to his queer awakening. The book is set in 1989, a time when being queer was synonymous with the stigma of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, more commonly referred to as AIDS."
"He opened his then Twitter account to see high-profile accounts such as Moms for Liberty, a conservative nonprofit organization focused on education for children, taking sentences of his book out of context. When he would confront them, they would admit they didn't even read the book."
"In some ways, it's a book about a very tragic chapter in our history. But it's also a book about how community can come together to heal and empower. I remember very vividly the feeling of vulnerability being placed in me."
Abdi Nazemian's 2019 young adult novel 'Like a Love Story' tells an emotionally autobiographical story of a young Iranian immigrant experiencing his queer awakening in 1989 during the AIDS crisis in New York. The novel explores themes of community healing and empowerment during a tragic historical period. Nazemian discovered his book being targeted by conservative organizations like Moms for Liberty, who quoted sentences out of context on social media without having read the full work. When confronted, these groups admitted they hadn't read the book. Nazemian received violent threats following social media interactions defending his work, experiencing profound vulnerability from the attacks.
Read at www.amny.com
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