Heaven's Coast

By Mark Doty,

Book cover of Heaven's Coast: A Memoir

Book description

HEAVEN'S COAST is an anatomy of loss: tender, heartbreaking, consoling and, ultimately, incredibly moving. Beginning with the first onset of AIDS and its lengthening shadow over a blissful relationship, the book follows the shifting patterns between two loves as the illness takes hold - the change in them and the…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Heaven's Coast as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Mark Doty writes of a time when his lover Wally was dying of AIDS. They were living in Provincetown on Pearl Street. It was recommended to me by my friend, the poet Michael Klein. I read it immediately following my partner Jeffrey’s death from AIDS when I was deranged and inconsolable.

Mark’s descriptions of daily life, including never-ending exquisite descriptions of walking his dog Beau along the ocean, hypnotized me as if it were not a book but a spell. After I finished the book, I tracked down Mark and told him he had to be my friend, and we…

From Ricky's list on saving my life when I was miserable.

Want books like Heaven's Coast?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Heaven's Coast.

Browse books like Heaven's Coast

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in HIV/AIDS, anatomy, and poets?

HIV/AIDS 69 books
Anatomy 44 books
Poets 71 books