The Normal Heart and The Destiny of Me

Book excerpt: Two award-winning plays from the legendary activist and dramatist who has been called “one of the best writers of our times.” (Lambda Book Report) The Normal Heart, set during the early years of the AIDS epidemic, is the impassioned indictment of a society that allowed the plague to happen, a moving denunciation of the ignorance and fear that helped kill an entire generation. It has been produced and taught all over the world. Its companion play, The Destiny of Me is the stirring story of an AIDs activist forced to put his life in the hands of the very doctor he has been denouncing. The Normal Heart was selected as one of the 100 Greatest Plays of the Twentieth Century by the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain The Destiny of Me was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, a double Obie winner, and the recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Play of the Year. Introduction by Tony Kushner. “Wired with anger, electric with rage. . . . Powerful stuff.” —The Boston Globe