A Friend of Dorothy’s is a compelling work of fiction by Richard Willett that captures both the heart-wrenching impact of AIDS during the 1980s and the more subtle, but just as damaging, psychological effects on individuals who lived their lives without the benefit of a visible sexual identity. The novel is told from the perspective of Eric Summerfeld, a gay man who has immigrated from Canada to the United States. Willet captures many of the emotions associated with loss, longing, grief, and emotional self-denial through Eric’s narrative. Eric, a 27-year-old man, finds himself paralyzed in a state of hesitation. While he longs for love and acceptance, he feels unworthy of either. Eric projects himself as straight and carries with him all of the burdens of a repressed gay man. He desires upward mobility through work, but remains in a low-paying, dead-end job.