My Government Means to Kill Me
Vibrant, humorous, and fraught with entanglements, Rasheed Newson’s My Government Means to Kill Me is an exhilarating, fast-paced, coming-of-age story that lends itself to a larger discussion about what it means for a young, gay, Black man in the mid-1980s to come to terms with his role in the midst of a political and social reckoning.
Synopsis
Born into a wealthy Black Indianapolis family, Earl “Trey” Singleton III leaves his overbearing parents and their expectations behind by running away to New York City with only a few dollars in his pocket. In the City, Trey meets up with a cast of characters that change his life forever—from civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, who he meets in a Harlem bathhouse, to his landlord, Fred Trump, who he clashes with and outfoxes. He volunteers at a renegade home hospice for AIDS patients, and after being put to the test by gay rights activist Larry Kramer and civil rights leader Dorothy
Cotton, becomes a founding member of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). Along the way Trey attempts to navigate past traumas and searches for ways to maintain familial relationships—all while seeking the meaning of life in the midst of so much death.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR'S CHOICE
A PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
A LAMBDA LITERARY PRIZE FOR GAY FICTION FINALIST
Photo by Christopher Marrs
Praise for
My Government Means to Kill Me
“Full of joy and righteous anger, sex and straight talk, brilliant storytelling and humor, Rasheed Newson’s debut novel has given us the story of Trey, set against the history of 80s queer Black New York, AIDS, and the movements that changed the era. A spectacularly researched Dickensian tale with vibrant characters and dozens of famous cameos, it is precisely the book we’ve needed for a long time. That—and a rollicking read! What more could you want?”
- ANDREW SEAN GREER, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of LESS
“My Government Means to Kill Me is an action-packed, entertaining inside look at the life of a young political rebel. Written with unflinching tenderness, Newson gives us an honest and compelling portrait of a gay Black man coming of age.”
- MATTHEW A. CHERRY, Academy Award-winning director of HAIR LOVE
“Hilarious, heartbreaking, and sexy as all get out.”
- AYELET WALDMAN, author of LOVE AND TREASURE
“Fresh, vibrant and utterly unapologetic. Rasheed Newson has written an unforgettable, take-no-prisoners novel alive with humor and full of urgency. Newson’s Trey and his determination to live life on his own terms, even in the face of death all around him, brings into three dimension an era of New York Queer life that, too often, has been flattened and whitewashed by history.”
- XOCHITL GONZALEZ, author of New York Times bestseller OLGA DIES DREAMING
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is a NATIONAL BESTSELLER - FEBRUARY 12, 2025
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of the "100 NOTABLE BOOKS OF 2022"
- THE NEW YORK TIMES
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of "THE BEST BOOKS OF 2022"
- THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of the "BEST DEBUT BOOKS OF 2022"
- DEBUTIFUL
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of the "11 BEST BOOKS OF 2022 BY LGBTQ+ AUTHORS"
- GAY TIMES
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of "OUR 23 FAVORITE LGBTQ+ BOOKS OF 2022"
- them
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of the "BEST DEBUTS OF 2022"
- AMAZON BOOK REVIEW
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of the "BEST LGBTQ BOOKS OF 2022"
- NBC NEWS
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of the "2022 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR - ADULT"
- THE TATTERED COVER
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is one of the "BEST LGBTQ BOOKS TO READ YOURSELF OR GIFT OTHERS"
- QUEERTY
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is a NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS' CHOICE
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME" is an AMAZON BEST BOOK OF AUGUST 2022
“Extraordinary…shines a vivid light onto underappreciated aspects of our history through the life of a gay Black teenager…The book’s greatest charm lies in the sensitivity and subtlety of its narrative.”
- THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"...beautifully portrays just how social activism has to be."
- THE WASHINGTON POST
"This book should charm its way onto lots of best books of the year lists."
- THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
“Delightful and fast-paced, a fascinating narrative of queer activism during the AIDS epidemic.”
- KIRKUS
"MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME provides a fascinating and nuanced history woven through an invigorating, sharp, and sexy tale."
- BUZZFEED
"An eloquent story of the struggle for gay liberation"
- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"An episodic narrative about learning to navigate the world, this novel is both hilarious and angry."
- THE BOSTON GLOBE
"Replete with cameos from historical figures, humor, heartbreak and lots of action, this novel has it all."
- SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES
“Newson’s debut is an audacious, vibrant Ragtime-esque ride through the sordid sanctuary of AIDS-era New York, a book about sex and activism and the power we have to liberate ourselves.”
- ELECTRIC LITERATURE
“Newson’s attention to historical details gives this moving novel a sense of urgency and immediacy.”
- BOOK RIOT
"From its use of footnotes to the historical figures that appear, the Bel Air co-showrunner's historical fiction debut delivers education and fun in equal measure."
- ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"...brings humanity, life, and wit to the desperation and politics that besieged real lives during the height of the AIDS epidemic."
- THE DAILY BEAST
"...extremely thoughtful and clever on narrative, thematic, and formal levels, unfolding meaning in every possible place, MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME is a tour-de-force."
- LITERARY HUB
“A fast-moving and riveting examination of what it means to build a life in the middle of a deadly epidemic.”
- ARLINGTON MAGAZINE
"Beautifully written, poignant, and exceptionally well-researched"
- DAILY HIVE
“MY GOVERNMENT MEANS TO KILL ME is not only a brilliant historical novel of those times, it is a bold statement of how someone who could have been an outcast doesn't settle for being left out.”
- DAILY KOS