In 1983, Robert Michael Painter died of an AIDS-related illness in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the first documented AIDS death in the state at a time when the world, particularly conservative Utah, did not know how to address queerness.
Painter’s son, Ryan, shares key details from his father’s life: marriage, a child, divorce, leaving his LDS faith, living as a gay man and finally, his death at age 34, when Ryan was just 7 years old.
Once believing his father’s early death might have saved him from the heartache of living in a world that did not accept him, Ryan now confronts the tragic loss of his father and other victims of the AIDS epidemic.
Learn more about Robert Michael Painter at theunexpectedson.com
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