BOOK BLAST: Behind the Headline by Dariusz Alexander (Excerpt)

BOOK BLAST

Book Title: Behind The Headline: A Gay Man’s Story of His Arrest

Author and Publisher: Dariusz Alexander

Release Date: August 31, 2023

Genres: Contemporary memoir, non-fiction, true life account

Tropes: Police procedures, gay entrapment, criminal law

Themes: Depression, self-reflection, overcoming hard times, struggling with sexuality, finding peace, maintaining dignity through integrity, equality matters

Heat Rating: 3 flames

Length: 75 pages

It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US | Amazon UK

Discover the captivating journey of a gay man unraveling the truth in “Behind The Headline”.

Get ready to be moved, inspired, and empowered.

Blurb

I was a successful gay police detective; good at my job, content with helping others, motivated by a sense of justice and trust I held both with my colleagues and ordinary people.
I always strived to be compassionate, diligent, and friendly to people around me. My future was seemingly bright.

That was until one day in March. Within five seconds, I turned my life upside down. I got arrested and was put through the criminal justice and media machine.

This is an authentic story of who I was and how I survived the most difficult period of my life.

#TrueStory #EqualityMatters #EmpoweringRead #LGBTQ #InspiringReads

Excerpt

I remember the coldness and tightness of the handcuffs being strapped on my hands behind my back.

“Breathe” the officer said… I could feel my entire body going numb, blood drained from my face and through the dried lips I muttered “You are ruining my life” …

I wanted to die there and then.

I could hear the beeping of the activated Body Warn Video Cameras of the two police officers. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster and my vision narrowed. Raindrops were falling on my head and as I looked around – the light seemed strangely brighter. I was now removed from what was happening, but also strangely present.

My past was flashing in front of my eyes. What looked like millions of neurons were firing inside my brain as I helplessly tried to understand what was happening.

Nothing would prepare me for what was about to unfold. That morning I woke up a regular self, I shaved and showered, had my coffee and a toast…

In just a matter of seconds my life turned upside down and I felt like I was just struck with a hammer to the back of my head. As I learned later that figurative “hammer” would strike again over and over in the coming weeks and months.

I was just arrested at Hampstead Heath Park by a plain clothes police officer.

About the Author

I was born in a small city in central Poland. In November of 2004 I emigrated to the UK and initially settled in the North of England before moving to London in 2006.

After years of struggling with my sexuality, I was able to come out as a gay man – something I would have never been able to do in Poland. For many years, I held a variety of ordinary jobs before a traumatic event in March of 2023 forced me to re-imagine my future and take on the role of a writer. “Behind The Headline” is my debut into the literary world written from the heart and with passion of someone who was in the centre of his life being turned upside down.