Andrew James Brookman

Andrew Brookman grew up with challenges in his life being different and shy to the other boys around him. Andrew was always very reserved and always isolated and found life very difficult to cope with and always felt like an outsider and never part of the crowd. Andrew hid a huge secret all his life and that secret was that he was a gay man living in a very hetro sexual world this was the nineties. Andrew spent thirty three years as a closeted Homosexual and suffered inner pain through suppressing who he was and who he was attracted to.

There was a lot of pretence in my life says Andrew and l was just a people pleaser not thinking for myself but putting other people first. Andrew got through life living in work and always struggling with money undertaking dead end Jobs and signing on benefits. Then a talent that had been ignored for many years came back to Andrew a talent to write and tell stories and Andrew used his imagination to escape from his troubles and the hardships of life. Andrew wrote stories that mirrored his own life and he was able to express himself through his imagination which was a wonderful outlet for him. Andrew wrote under a pen name Julian Black for many years because he was hiding his sexuality. Writing fiction and non fiction was a Joy for him. Then this year in 2025 Andrew found himself a literary Agent and published his memoir Colours of a rare bird published by Merlinus Publishers and came out of the closet through a television show called Virgin Island. Andrew could relate to the characters on the show and their fear of intimacy. Andrew told his story to the press about being a forty seven year old virgin and being in the closet for many years. His story was all over the Internet and everybody now knew Andrew was a Gay man and he had set himself free. Andrew now wants to share his personal life and his suppression and his challenges to maybe help other people going through similar circumstances. We only have one life says Andrew and we should make it count as best we can in the short time we have here. Andrew says he learned that late in life but he is living his true self now .