This book helped me understand my brain and in particular the queer brain.

Today we meet Max Hovey and we’re talking about the queer book that saved his life: The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs.

Max Hovey is a London-based writer, creator, and queer advocate. He dedicates his platform to sparking discussions about and promoting body acceptance, sex positivity, mental health awareness, and other topics relating to LGBTQIA+ issues. His writing and work have been featured in the Independent, Attitude Magazine, GQ, Bustle, and other outlets. No Fats, No Fems: A Guide to Queer Empathy and Unpacking Prejudice is his first book (comes out May 19, 2026).

Through brave individual stories and compassionate analysis, The Velvet Rage explores how shame is insidious, and can be traced back to childhood feelings of "otherness". Drawing on contemporary psychological research, The Velvet Rage offers a path to emotional well-being and an end to self-defeating behavior.

Alan Downs, PhD is a clinical psychologist and the bestselling author of seven books.

Connect with Max

youtube: youtube.com/@climaxlgbtq
instagram: @max_hovey
tiktok: @maxhovey

Our Bookshop
Visit our Bookshop for new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbook

Buy your copy of The Velvet Rage here: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780802135223

Buy your copy of No Fats No Femmes: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780063423466

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Credits
Host/Founder: John Parker
Executive Producer: Jim Pounds
Associate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Bob Bush, Natalie Cruz, Troy Ford, Jonathan Fried, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, Sean Smith, and Karsten Vagner
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