JL King
About JL King
Speech topics
Men & Mental Health
The Importance of Mental Health Awareness for Men: Discussing the stigmas and barriers that men face in seeking help for mental health issues and promoting the need for open conversations.
Books by JL King
“Love on a Two-Way Street” (2009)
Juice is a music mogul with the midas touch, so it’s no surprise that his fianceé is not just the queen of hip-hop—she is a multi-platinum-selling, six-time Grammy winner and also a fashion icon. Her father, a retired police officer, doesn’t approve of their relationship. While perhaps a bit overprotective, he sees through the luxurious lifestyle and feels like something is not quite right with Juice. But his suspicions are not enough to stop their wedding, the event of the year with all of hip-hop royalty attending. What the world doesn’t know is that Juice is the leader of an underground world of the most powerful men in the country who are on the DL, or down low, and hide their true sexuality from their public lives. The members are powerful and famous men worry that their true sexual preferences would take down the lives they’ve built. These men are mega church pastors, NBA stars, Fortune 500 businessmen, magazine publishers, fashion designers, and senators. Just as King’s bestselling book On the Down Low put the provocative topic of men who lie about their sexuality on the map, this new novel will have readers wondering if there is a real-life persona behind these fictional characters.
“Coming Up from the Down Low: The Journey to Acceptance, Healing, and Honest Love” (2006)
J. L. King lived on the down low for years before he wrote On the Down Low, the controversial bestseller that revealed the secret subculture of men leading straight lives while secretly sleeping with other men. In Coming Up from the Down Low, King takes readers to the next level, answering the most common questions asked by the people he’s met while traveling the country and reporting on this lifestyle. He provides more in-depth information about the men who live this way, dispels the most common myths, and addresses the most frequently asked question of all: What are the signs? But more than that, King tells of his own transformation over the last year, as he’s moved into a more honest evaluation of his own life and the lives of other men like him. Filled with fascinating stories from men who have lived on the down low and the women who have struggled through it with them, Coming Up from the Down Low is a vital call for greater love, tolerance, and forgiveness in our individual lives and within our communities.
“On the Down Low: A Journey into the Lives of 'Straight' Black Men Who Sleep with Men” (2005)
Delivering the first frank and thorough investigation of life “on the down low” (the DL), J. L. King exposes a closeted culture of sex between black men who lead “straight” lives. King explores his own past as a DL man, and the path that led him to let go of the lies and bring forth a message that can promote emotional healing and open discussions about relationships, sex, sexuality, and health in the black community. Providing a long-overdue wake-up call, J. L. King bravely puts the spotlight on a topic that has until now remained dangerously taboo. Drawn from hundreds of interviews, statistics, and the author’s firsthand knowledge of DL behavior, On the Down Low reveals the warning signs African American women need to know. King also discusses the potential health consequences of having unprotected sex, as African American women represent an alarming 64 percent of new HIV infections. Volatile yet vital, On the Down Low is sure to be one of the most talked-about books of the year. “A survey by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta found that nearly a quarter of black HIV-positive men who had sex with men consider themselves heterosexual.”
At a glanceJL King
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