Dr. Charles Silverstein

Psychologist Charles Silverstein (b. 1935) made history in 1973, when he wrote and presented the argument that convinced the American Psychiatric Association to declassify homosexuality as a mental illness. Since then, mental health professionals have regarded homosexuality as a normal variation of human sexual orientation. In 1987 the American Psychiatric Association elevated him to Fellow for his contributions to this field.

In 1977 he co-authored the landmark book The Joy of Gay Sex with Edmund White, a book that spawned two sequels. While each of his first seven books had been on some aspect of homosexuality, his eighth, For the Ferryman* (2011), is a departure in that it is an inspiring personal memoir.

This book focuses on his efforts toward gay activism and his long-term relationship with the much younger William Borey. Although handsome and intelligent, Borey was a loner who had never held a job. The book tells how these two very different people somehow managed to fulfill a need in each other over a period of two decades, before Borey succumbed to AIDS. For the Ferryman is a look into the hearts, minds and emotions of two men who grabbed on to each other to make the best out of life, delivering an uplifting message of enjoying every moment of life, despite any adversity.


Charles Silverstein’s For the Ferryman: A Personal History is available in e-reader and text-to-speech formats for $10.

“Dr. Charles Silverstein has written a memoir about the great love of his life – an eccentric, androgynous genius whom Charles adored and cared for despite all his flaws and addictions. Most writers idealize their lovers, especially if they've died young, but Silverstein presents his William with all his charm and sexual allure and intellectual brilliance – and all his maddening faults. I wept at the end of this brave, honest book—and I suspect you will too.”
– Edmund White, co-author of The Joy of Gay Sex

* Explanation of the book title, For the Ferryman. In Greek mythology, Charon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage was often placed in the mouth of a dead person. Silverstein’s book is his payment to the ferryman after the death of his partner William Borey.