Meet Darren — Contributor

Darren Brady is a Coach, Co-founder of The Quest, native Mancunian and latter-day Londoner. He was the kid in the street who organised the games, activities and puppet shows. He now does the same in adult form in dynamic group workshops and powerful coaching sessions that demand the same energy and involvement.

In his own words:

What are your hopes for ‘Love Me As I Am‘ in terms of making a contribution to the gay community?

The stories in ‘Love Me As I Am‘ has the potential to engage the reader in a very rich and unique conversation as they share parts of our lives that the mainstream is not always aware of. As the reader engages in this conversation, he or she will gain a much better understanding of what it is like to grow up as a gay child. So whether you are a teacher or parent of a gay child, or friends with a gay man or a gay teenager struggling to come to terms with your sexuality, somewhere in this book there is a story that will resonate with you. The power of the message of ‘Love Me As I Am’ lies in the fact that it can reach so much further than just the gay community.

Storytelling is an important part of the work you do at The Quest. Why do you think it’s important for people to share our stories?

When sharing our stories, we allow people to enter our own personal and intimate world. This is something explanation and theory don’t cater for. Stories force a connection between people on a deeper level and I think when we connect with another human being on such a personal level, we also connect with a truth deep within ourselves. So, it doesn’t matter whether you are straight, gay, black, white, male or female, being human is what really connects all of us. Storytelling helps us to cross the bridge of prejudice and judgement so that we can make that human connection.