Desire Makes Me Brave is an adventurous and vulnerable memoir about self-discovery and the erotic-awakening of a bonafide bisexual. Part sex memoir, part romcom, part travelog, Desire Makes Me Brave traces the wild and winding escapades of April Hirschman—from her all-but-traditional upbringing in a northern California hippie commune into world-expanding explorations through Asia, Mexico, Europe, and the erotic enclaves of San Francisco. Throw out the blueprint of what life and love “should be” —in this true story, April tap dances along the Kinsey scale of sexuality, finding love, sex and romance with a butch lesbian, an artsy andro girl, straight cis men, and strangers or friends at sex parties. 

Throughout the memoir, April wrestles with competing desires for a stable, grounded love and for untethered excitement and novelty. She longs for a relationship that lasts, while also desiring all that is subversive, sexy, and new. Lusty, independent, courageous, and sensitive, April becomes a pagan priestess who takes the “slut pledge” and chases rainbow oracles, hoping they will answer the big questions of her love life. Follow April’s quest to find security, passion, and sexual fulfillment—and reflect upon your own. 

“Most of us are never invited to tag along on world travels with our shiny, fascinating bisexual friends. We’re lucky if we get invited to the slide show later! Well, book your tickets, because you are about to join perhaps the most peripatetic and adventurous member of the San Francisco Bay Area’s famed Hirschman Family Bisexual Dynasty, who has had pretty much all the adventures. This is a delightful memoir from a delightful and open-hearted explorer. Cherish the sexy frequent flyer miles you’re about to earn!”
—Carol Queen, PhD, author and co-founder of the Center for Sex & Culture

“Desire Makes Me Brave gives bisexuality a voice in a way that is playful, captivating, and downright sexy. April Hirshman’s raw sharing of her journey being “attracted to sameness and difference” inspires other bisexual or bi-curious folks to shamelessly embrace their true desires outside of the standard binary for sexual exploration and orientation.”
—Amy Baldwin, coauthor of Shameless Sex

“Readers will be enlightened, entertained, and moved by April Hirschman’s bold hybrid memoir, a delightful blend of psychology, Eros, and poetry.”
—Sari Botton, author of And You May Find Yourself…Confessions of a Late-Blooming Gen-X Weirdo.

“A truly unique journey with universal lessons about squeezing the most out of life. April’s lust for life is greedy and makes me want to take bigger bites, too. You don’t have to be Bi to take April’s ‘Slut Pledge!’ But I did, and I’m better for it!” 
—Adam MacLean, founder of PostShame.org & #PostShame

“Desire Makes Me Brave is clever and charming, vulnerable and wise. It’s as much about sexuality and desire as about how we humans craft the stories of our lives.”
—Kate Evans, winner of the bisexual book award