THE 16TH SECOND

A debut memoir unpacks a man’s motivations as a gay performer and activist.

In this age of digitally shortened attention spans, Andy Warhol’s famous observation about 15 minutes of fame should, in Richard’s opinion, be shortened to 15 seconds. “Miraculously, I have lived through my fifteen seconds of fame, albeit not without scars,” writes the author in his preface. “After years of struggle, self-loathing, and self-sabotage, I learned that what happens in the 16th Second is the most important time of our life, because the 16th Second IS the rest of our life!” With this book, Richard describes his rise from a closeted gay boy in the 1970s in Louisiana’s Cajun Country to becoming his alter ego, Colt Michael, a star stripper on Texas’ dancing circuit. The first 15 chapters—the author’s first 15 seconds, so to speak—detail the highs and lows of coming into his own as Colt, a journey that involved heartbreak, drug addiction, depression, rape, and loss of friends to AIDS. Richard’s 16th second began only when he retired Colt in order to get his life together and seek treatment for his own AIDS. The 16th second would eventually extend to sobriety, therapy, a career in activism, and even a run for a seat on his local parish council. But could the author’s second act ever outshine the excitement that came from being Colt? Following the memoir are nearly a dozen poems by Richard on topics like grief, anxiety, and his transformation into the person he wanted to be. The author’s prose is chatty and energetic, reveling in the messiness of his youth: “With no full-time work, Colt Michael performed more often and at higher payouts, which didn’t go over very well with some of the bar owners; especially since some of them were also my drug dealers who paid me in cocaine instead of cash.” Yet at over 400 pages, the book is longer than it needs to be—for example, the poems don’t add anything—and Richard’s self-regard is sometimes a bit distracting. Still, many readers will relate to his desire to be seen and accepted at all costs. And the memoir deftly offers a one-of-a-kind perspective on the AIDS crisis and gay culture in the ’80s South.

A big, loud, and often insightful account about the AIDS era and fame’s value.