Lawyer’s double life in print
The journey from closeted country lawyer to gay author is undoubtedly an interesting one, and David W Double didn’t need any more inspiration than his own story when writing In Another Life, a novel about life in country Victoria in the 1970s and 1980s.
The book, which is fictional but based heavily on Double’s own experiences, will launch in Melbourne on September 16, just weeks after he was the keynote speaker at the Country Awareness Network GLBTI Health and Wellbeing Forum at LaTrobe University.
It’s a far cry from Double’s career at a conventional legal firm in Colac in western Victoria and his role in community organisations and activities including the Young Liberals, Rostrum, cricket and football umpiring.
“You have a lot of memories, some sad, some happy and some that make you angry. I just thought to right them down on paper several years ago,” Double told Southern Star Observer.
After retiring from practising law in 1998, a career that Double said accounted for some very unsatisfying times, he decided to write the book over an 18-month period.
Despite being gay for much of his time in regional Victoria, Double lived in the closet in fear of the backlash it might have had on his career and his public profile. It wasn’t until he moved to Geelong that Double finally had the opportunity to face the reality of his sexuality.
“There wasn’t the kind of support services in the ‘80s that there are now. I found it a bit easier when I moved to Geelong because it was a bigger city. I found the confidence after a few years,” he said.
Double said he hopes, first and foremost, people get enjoyment from the story more than just inspiration. He said there are themes like coming out, suicide, depression and the attitude of police and the courts at the time, that many gay men will be able to relate to.
“It is fictional, I’ve spiced it up a little. I wanted to make it readable. But if people get inspired by the story, well that’s great too,” he said.
info: In Another Life will have its launch at Hares & Hyenas on Thursday, September 16 at 7pm.
