Kerry Ashton
Actor / Solo Performer / Voice-Over Specialist
Produced & Published Playwright & Author
Director / Theatrical Producer / Songwriter & Singer
  • Home
  • Bio
    • Overview
    • Singer/Songwriter
    • Director, Producer, Master Class Teacher
  • One-Man Play
    • Kerry Ashton's History with "The Wilde Spirit"
    • Show History & Reviews >
      • Reviews & Press from Long-Runs >
        • Resume of Long Runs
        • Press from LA 1977-1978
        • Press from Off-Off B'way 1982
        • Press from Las Vegas 1983
        • Press from P'town 1990-1992 >
          • P'Town 1990 Press
          • P'Town 1991 Press
          • P'Town 1992 Press
          • P'Town 1995 Editorial
        • Press from Key West, FL 1995
        • Press from Off-Broadway 1996
        • Since 2000
      • Reviews & Press from Road Engagements 1977-2000 >
        • Resume of Road Engagements
        • Sponsor Testimonials 1977-2000
      • Poster Art 1997-2013
      • Brochures 1977-2013
    • Performance DVDs >
      • DVD 1996 Off-Broadway
      • DVD 1992 Musical Version: Live from Provincetown
      • DVD 1990 Provincetown
    • Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording on CD and MP3 Download >
      • Selections from the Off-Broadway Cast Recording
    • Musical Version: Live from Provincetown: Kerry Ashton Sings Wilde (1992)
    • MP3 Download of Digital Soundtrack Recording
    • Digital Soundtrack Recording
    • Audio Books
    • Published Musical Score & Songs >
      • Vocal Selections from THE WILDE SPIRIT
    • Other Audio & Video >
      • YouTube Video Clips of Play Performances
      • Digital Video Clips of TV Interviews
      • Audio Clips of Radio Interviews
    • Author's Notes on Oscar Wilde
    • Oscar Wilde in Photographs
    • Engaging a Performance
    • Licensing "The Wilde Spirit"
  • Writing
    • Published Works Overview >
      • Saint Unshamed:A Gay Mormon's Life
      • Red Hot Mama
      • The Wilde Spirit
      • My Life as Oscar Wilde
      • Buffalo Head Nickels
    • Published Musical Score & Songs >
      • CD of Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording >
        • Selections from the Off-Broadway Cast Recording
      • CD of Musical Version: Live from Provincetown
      • DVD of Musical Version: Live from Provincetown
      • Vocal Selections from "The Wilde Spirit"
      • Digital Soundtrack Recording
    • Published Audio Books
    • My Life as Oscar Wilde (The Screenplay)
    • Licensing Rights
  • Acting
    • Acting Reviews >
      • Letters of Recommendation as an Actor
    • Head Shots as a Professional Actor
    • Photos of Roles Played
    • Audio & Video
    • Voice-Overs
  • Contact
    • Mailing List
  • Blog
  • Store
    • Books >
      • SAINT UNSHAMED: A GAY MORMON'S LIFE Hardcover
      • SAINT UNSHAMED: A GA|Y MORMON'S LIFE Audio Book
      • SAINT UNSHAMED: A GAY MORMON'S LIFE Paperback
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (Published Play)
    • Audio Books >
      • SAINT UNSHAMED: A GAY MORMON'S LIFE Audio Book
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (Audio Book) (Off-Broadway, 1996)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (Audio Book MP3) (The Musical 1992) Kerry Ashton Sings Wilde
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (Audio Book MP3) Live From Provincetown, 1990
    • Audio & Video Products >
      • SAINT UNSHAMED: A GAY MORMON'S LIFE Audio Book
      • THE WILDE SPRIIT (DVD) (Off-Broadway 1996)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (DVD) (The Musical, 1992)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (DVD) (Live From Provincetown, 1990)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (Audio Book MP3) Off-Broadway 1996
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (Audio Book MP3) (The Musical, 1992) Kerry Ashton Sings Wilde
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (Audio Book MP3) Live From Provincetown, 1990
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT Original Off-Broadway Cast Recoding CD
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording 1996 (MP3 & PDF Download)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (MUSICAL VERSION, 1992) ON CD
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (MUSICAL VERSION 1992) MP3 Download
    • Plays & Musical Plays >
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT
      • RED HOT MAMA The New Sophie Tucker Musical
      • MY LIFE AS OSCAR WILDE (Play)
      • BUFFALO HEAD NICKELS
    • Sheet Music & Scores >
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT Vocal Selections
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording CD
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording (MP3 & PDF Download)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT CD (THE MUSICAL) (1992) Kerry Ashton Sings Wilde
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT (THE MUSICAL) CD 1992 (MP3 & PDF Download)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT Digital Soundtrack Recording (MP3 Audio File Download)
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT Original Off-Broadway Soundtrack Recording (MP3 Download)
    • Poetry & Song Lyrics >
      • THE WILDE SPIRIT VOCAL SELECTIONS

"SAINT UNSHAMED" RECEIVES A RAVE FROM KIRKUS REVIEWS

3/20/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture

SAINT UNSHAMED: A GAY MORMON'S LIFE
Healing from the Shame of Religion, Rape, Conversion Therapy & Cancer 
by Kerry Ashton

​KIRKUS REVIEW

Ashton’s (Red Hot Mama, 2015) memoir tells stories of his troubled childhood, the excitement of being an aspiring actor in New York City, and his first real love for another man.
Growing up in the heart of Mormon country in the 1950s, or the “LDS yellow brick road,” as he calls it, Ashton spent his early childhood gravitating toward performance, music, and theater—all subjects that earned him scorn from his conservative father. These painful early years also resulted in him having deep shame about his sexuality and his desire for men, which he couldn’t even admit to himself. The memoir shifts between Ashton’s first few years at Brigham Young University, where he began to make a name for himself as one of the most talented actors on campus, and memories of beatings from his father and of the erosion of his family, due to fear of sin. 
 
During college, he made forays into sex; once, he endured a brutal rape, which he willed himself to forget. However, at Brigham Young, he also met a strikingly good-looking young man named Harlan, who took young Ashton under his wing, and with whom Ashton fell deeply in love. In Ashton’s post-college life, he tried to break onto Broadway and come to terms with the psychological damage he endured in the LDS Church. He also experienced the devastating conclusion of his long relationship with Harlan. 
 
Ashton has clearly led a long, fascinating life. The care and detail he brings to his childhood and first years in New York, feature wonderful run-ins with celebrities, such as Bette Davis and Stephen Sondheim. However, the memoir’s structure is smart, as it allows Ashton to develop a single, riveting story about his growing love for Harlan and his battle with BYU’s unrelenting moral standards. Along the way, he adds rich perspective as he alternates between the troubled child he was, and the proud, openly gay New Yorker that he eventually became.
 
A moving coming-out story with an intriguing narrative structure.
 
Pub Date: April 27, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-692-17051-9
Page count: 348pp
Publisher: Lynn Wolf Enterprises
Program: Kirkus Indie
​
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Kerry Ashton

    Author, Playwright, Actor, Director, Producer, Composer & Lyricist

    Visit Kerry Ashton's Author Page at Amazon Author Central by clicking on the link below:​

    Kerry Ashton @ AMAZON

    Archives

    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018

    RSS Feed


    To comment, you must first send your name, address & email to the publisher at LynnWolfEnterprises@
    gmail.com. Then, your comment must be approved before it will be posted.
Official PayPal Seal

This Website, and all of its contents, including all text, photographs, art and graphics are fully protected under copyright laws of the United States. Any unauthorized use of any material content from this site without written permission will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 

Copyright © 2018 by  Kerry Ashton. All Rights Reserved.