WHEN WE RISE is a memoir so powerfully written that we gain access not only to the life of its author, Cleve Jones, but to all those who struggled for equal rights during the gay liberation movement. At the start of the book, Jones is a teenager, living with his parents in Arizona after having moved from Pittsburgh, a place where he’d been abused by other boys. Feeling as if there is absolutely no one like him, he skips gym class and finds solace in the library. Reading Life magazine, he momentously witnesses proof of the gay liberation movement, seeing photos of men in the fight for equality around the country, and learns that meetings are being held in Arizona. It’s in that moment that he stops planning to kill himself; Life ends up saving not only Jones, but the countless men his activism work saved thereafter.

A Quaker, Jones attends Intermountain Friends Fellowship meetings with his mother in Arizona. It’s among these first meetings in Jones’ life that he learns about nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience, practices that will inform his work as an activist. It’s also during these meetings that he meets a man who invites him to San Francisco.

"By the end of the book, we practically feel the heartbeat of America, and maybe it’s a good heart, one that can accept love for what it truly is --- love."

After coming out to his father and receiving a morbid response, Jones moves to San Francisco with hardly any money in his pocket or a place to live. But the Castro District is his sanctuary, and he makes many friends who essentially become family. Lovers enter and exit his life with grace as Jones leaves the United States for Europe and returns again, San Francisco eventually being the only place he can truly call home. At the beginning of this journey, Jones doesn’t have a plan. He comes across as someone living without bounds, surviving paycheck to paycheck while coming of age in the ’70s. Police brutality and violence in general are rampant in San Francisco, with the LGBT community a major target. Jones’ eyes are open. He is ready to do something but doesn’t know exactly what --- until he meets Harvey Milk.

This is where the book really shines. Before the reader’s eyes, Jones transforms into an activist who has the confidence to approach Milk, the intelligence to impress him, and the skills to become a major community organizer. Together, they work to fight against LGBT discrimination in the workplace. Jones’ pure fearlessness and tireless attitude eventually play a huge role in Milk becoming the first openly gay man to be elected to public office. A momentous scene is when the two are on a bus, contemplating an enormous poster for another candidate, when they look closer at the windows of the building beneath it and see signs for Milk. Jones soon becomes his intern and enrolls in college. He’s on track, blessed with a wonderful mentor.

When Milk is assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White, the public goes into an outrage, especially after discovering that White got off for manslaughter. On Market Street, hundreds of people are found protesting. A reporter tracks down Jones, asking if Milk’s birthday will be when the gay community reacts to the unjust verdict. At that moment, Jones looks directly into the camera and says, “No. The reaction will be tonight. It will be now.” Fearless once again, he organizes the famous White Night riots.

Jones continues to work as an activist and speaker, his good reputation landing him a job for Assemblyman Art Agnos. Things seem to be falling into place until the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Thousands die in San Francisco. There is no proven cure, and gays are being discriminated against, especially where medical treatment is concerned. Finding a cure is not the country’s top priority, and the opinions of churches and organizations, even medical institutions, are devastating. Jones finds out that he is positive, but it does not stop him from speaking out for what is right. He becomes a renowned public speaker, traveling nationally, and conceptualizes the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1987, to respect the memories of those who have passed. He survives thanks to a new drug, and some marijuana to help with side effects, thus saving his life.

Years go by, and Proposition 8 is passed. Jones is a tireless fighter still, advocating for marriage equality. We are brought through his journey, and that of the LGBT community, witnessing the unnecessary obstacles society placed in front of people who want to share their lives together, especially after all those who loved and cared for one another during the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Justice prevails when Proposition 8 is repealed. By the end of the book, we practically feel the heartbeat of America, and maybe it’s a good heart, one that can accept love for what it truly is --- love.