The Light of Day Author Event

Join us for a discussion of The Light of Day with authors Christopher Stevens and Louis Radnofsky. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

A beautiful and powerful story of sexuality, disability, friendship, isolation, love and chosen family, The Light of Day is a vital piece of missing history about a brave revolutionary in the fight for equality. 'Sir, we are homosexuals’ - So began the letter penned by Roger Butler and sent to several newspaper editors – some of whom were so shocked they thought it was a hoax – in June 1960. Writing such a letter seven years before the decriminalization of homosexuality was a radical and dangerous move. It was a risk that set a major milestone in the fight for gay rights – one that has been almost entirely forgotten.

This is the story of the first man to come out voluntarily, using his own name, to an entire nation, a decade before activists started positioning gay people everywhere to ‘come out proud’. Taking us into secret gay parties and activist meetings, The Light of Day charts how Roger helped bring about the legalization of homosexuality, but soon found himself marginalized from the movement he kickstarted after losing his sight in his early 30s.

Enter Christopher – a student asked to visit and read to an old, blind man at the beginning of a new century. As their intergenerational friendship bloomed, Roger came to trust Christopher with his most precious possession: memoirs of his revolutionary past, locked away in his home. After Roger’s death, Christopher opened a series of unsent letters, left in a pink folder, addressed to him. They contained Roger’s final wish, for Christopher finally to bring his remarkable, hidden story into the light of day.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Christopher Stephens is an academic based in south west London. He is also CEO of an educational charity that promotes research into issues of importance to contemporary society. He has published on a range of topics, including diversity and the language of inclusion, the role of faith institutions in contemporary society, chaplaincy and pastoral care, and the relationship between law and theology. Roger left his extensive archive of writings and letter correspondences to Christopher upon his death in 2011.

Louise Radnofsky is a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Washington, D.C., where she has covered healthcare, the White House, immigration, sports and currently, legal affairs. She holds two degrees in modern history from Oxford, where she attended University College, and one from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She and Christopher have been friends for more than 20 years.