My Life Above Water

My Life Above Water is the long-anticipated sequel to My Life Underwater, the semi-autobiographical novel about a young gay man and his best friend during the late 1970s in Vancouver, Canada. The sequel starts with a storm in the winter of 1983, during the beginning of a health crisis deeply affecting Vancouver’s gay community. In the dawning era of HIV/AIDS, Vancouver was considered one of the hot spots for infection. In My Life Above Water, AIDS terrifyingly makes its mark. With little understanding of how the so-called ‘gay plague’ was spreading in urban areas, the Vancouver gay community was mired in anxiety. Our protagonist, Shepard, tries to balance his ongoing studies with the final season of competitive swimming, despite an unforgiving coach with a surprising predilection. Failing to medal, Shepard’s place on the national team is in question. Complicating things, his father suffers a near-fatal heart attack while playing golf and requires surgery from an unfortunately named cardiologist, Dr. Deth. Shep’s mother is overcome with worry and asks for her children’s support, but her son’s loyalties are divided between his surly father and afflicted friend.Other problems abound, such as a frantic out-of-town call from Lara, an old friend, to let Shepard know that her agent, and Shep’s once-secret lover, is now missing. Meanwhile, Shep’s boyfriend is working as a director in a third-rate dinner theatre in faraway Sudbury, Ontario. His landlady, a former distance swimmer facing a deadly problem with her tenant, comes into possession of an illegal and unusual remedy that might help revitalize a member of their community. My Life Above Water recounts how a group of close-knit friends reunite to deal with the fear and uncertainty associated with the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.