This long book (450pp) is about bullying. James' basic thesis is that his early life is representative of many young people growing up; it is a period of growth in which they encounter many trials, tribulations and triumphs, in a society that is unable or unwilling to acknowledge these tribulations, and especially the sexuality of young people and the bullying they experience, and its effects. James was different, and he dared to be different. As a result, he was teased, bullied, marginalized, labeled strange, and experienced a lot of anguish. Thus, his life was often about finding someone like him, to avoid loneliness and friendlessness, to be understood.
James wrote this narrative diary to tell his story, without clear intent. And when one looks at it, it does seem to be all about him. But when you begin to look at what he experienced, suffered, it is in fact more about the society in which he lived; and although it is set in the 1950s to '70s, many of the conditions, thinking, social attitudes and so forth continue to exist, as they were, as some legacy of bygone days. Time has marched forward, but attitudes and behaviours have not.
James' story, the story of his life, then, is not about him, but the effect that myopic social views have of individuals, not least of which is bullying in some form or other, to the effect, at the extreme, of suicide or murder. And if it is suicide as a result of bullying then it is murder....social murder.