From a Victorian asylum in rural Wales in the early 1970s to the radical politics of HIV in Liverpool during the late 1980s, this is a journey in search of meaning and identity through the territory where sexuality, religion and culture colide. Reprint; first published in October 2008.

Dyma hunangofiant John Sam Jones, sy'n tywys y darllenydd o seilam Fictoraidd yng nghefn gwlad Cymru ar ddechrau'r 1970au i wleidyddiaeth radical HIV yn Lerpwl ar ddiwedd yr 1980au. Ceir yma ymdrech yr awdur i chwilio am ystyr a hunaniaeth trwy ganol dryswch rhywioldeb, crefydd a diwylliant. Adargraffiad; cyhoeddwyd gyntaf yn Hydref 2008.

Crawling through Thorns is a book that refuses to be pigeon-holed: it reads like memoir, is presented as fiction (‘but a true story, nevertheless’) and offers a critique of society’s changing attitudes towards the gay community from the 1960s to the present day. It is a brave and often shocking book, whose flashback structure generously softens the pain.

John Idris Jones realises at a very young age that he is physically attracted to men. Unfortunately, he is growing up in Barmouth in the 1960s and 70s – neither a place nor a time known for their acceptance of difference. By the time he is eighteen, John Idris has had a breakdown, been treated for his ‘illness’ with electric-shock aversion therapy and attempted to commit suicide. This might seem like the Dark Ages in our more enlightened times of civil partnerships, but it is, incredibly, only thirty years ago that the word ‘homosexual’ ‘always appeared alongside other nouns like thief, criminal, blackmailer, alcoholic, murderer, pervert and even unstable psychotic’. Despite such deep-rooted prejudice, John Idris finds the outward support and inner strength he needs to assert his identity with pride and to support others in their journey. This might sound rather happy-ever-after but it is absolutely not a fairytale. The battle might have seemed to have been won in the 1980s, but then came AIDS and the new wave of paranoia that gave rise to such shameful monstrosities as Section 28 . . .

Crawling through Thorns is the story not just of a personal quest for honesty and openness, but also of a society having to confront its fears and prejudices. Highlighting the difference between the toxic shame delivered upon the oppressed and the real shame that should be felt by the oppressors, it is a challenging and compulsive read – often harrowing but ultimately uplifting.

Suzy Ceulan Hughes

It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgment should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.

Gellir defnyddio'r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatâd Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.