Down Low Authors Unite For New Tour

Atlanta, GA and Springfield, OH (BlackNews.com) – Authors J.L. King and Brenda Stone Browder have come together to share their personal experiences of the “down low” phenomenon, and how those going through the difficulties associated with a partner living on the down low can heal, forgive and find love again. Their joint tour is in direct response to the hundreds of requests that each of them has received while on the road promoting their separate literary projects. The tour is appropriately called, “A Conversation of Reconciliation”. “Many people have come up to me, in disbelief that Brenda and I are friends, and that people really can heal and move past their differences. Hopefully our tour will teach people how they too, can move past their pain”, states King. King’s blockbuster book, Living on the Down Low: A Journey Into the Lives of “Straight” Black Men Who Sleep with Men, released by Broadway Books in 2004 has triggered the national discussion on human sexual orientation and HIV/AIDS prevention. With this discussion came the stark reality that the new face of persons living with HIV and AIDS is a black woman, with an alarming 64 percent of new HIV infections reported in the United States, found among this minority group. Brenda Stone Browder, King’s ex-wife, and author of the Essence bestseller, On the Up and Up: A Survival Guide for Women Living with Men on the Down Low, credits her faith in God and a supportive family for her making it through that very difficult time in her life. Now and lay speaker and divinity student, Browder sees it as her ministry to assist women and men dealing with the down low phenomenon. “Given the HIV/AIDS pandemic that we have in the black community, I believe strongly that we (J.L. and I) must continue the dialogue about human sexual orientation and honest relationships with action,” said Browder. “I want women in particular to know, that they can find love again-as I did”. “It is estimated that up to 2 million American families will have to cope with the pain and confusion of when a spouse unexpectedly reveals their sexual orientation”, states Amity Pierce Buxton, PhD, Executive Director of the Straight Spouse Network. “This is why this joint tour by J.L. and Brenda is so very important, and we proudly endorse it. What better way to spread our mission of “Reaching Out…Healing…and Building Bridges.” Buxton has lead the international organization since 1991, that has grown to 84 spousal support groups across the United States and in 12 foreign countries, including most recently South Africa.