September marks Pride Month in Charlottesville, and as part of its celebration, The Beautiful Idea on the Downtown Mall will host a joint reading by authors Charley Burton and, via Zoom, Steve Majors at 6:30pm September 10. Burton is the chair of Equality Virginia and a contributor to Charlottesville Tomorrow. His new book, The Boy Beneath My Skin, is a memoir of his journey through childhood, getting sober, and transitioning at age 50. You can learn more about it at charleyspeaks.com. We put Burton in the HotSeat to see where he’s headed next.
Age: 66
Pronouns: He/him
Hometown: North Garden
Job(s): Retired, but working part-time at On Our Own. [It’s] a drop-in center where people come in all day. They can get food, they can play games. There’s writing exercises. There’s meetings, and I help facilitate the meetings and just be in the house. There is support for someone who’s going through a difficult time or just needs connection. It’s a great job. You know, I’ve got 20 years of sobriety, so basically, I feel like I’m being of service.
What’s the strangest job you’ve ever held? Selling water coolers.
Most interesting job? I retired after 20 years of management in [the] janitorial field, and my last gig was the Virginia Guesthouse. It was magnetic. We were on fire. We were anxious to get it open, and every day was some type of adventure. … It was hard to leave, because I felt like I was leaving family. But I also have my sights set on doing a lot more service work within the trans community, so I just decided to retire.
What was the hardest part about writing your new book? Editing, reliving some of the past.
What was the easiest? Writing the book. It’s taken from over 75 hours of videos I sent to my therapist.
What do you hope people who read your book will take away from it? Both of my books are not only for the trans community, but also for parents and allies. I am not unique. The trans community is going through the same things I did, or worse. I hope they see hope and perseverance.
You’ve talked about sneaking into the back of the Gordon Avenue Library at age 10 to find books that reflected you. If you were to meet that child in the stacks today, what would you say to him? Keep reading and keep living in books. They are a great escape.
What book would you give him? The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss. It teaches about accepting differences in appearance.
There are a lot of debates right now about the right or wrong way to be a man. What does masculinity mean to you? What kind of man do you want to be? There is no wrong way to be a man. For me, masculinity is being a man of [my] word. Standing firm and strong in my faith.
What are you working on next? The [annual Trans Futures] conference in November, by my nonprofit Transforming Futures.
What’s your proudest accomplishment? Getting sober.
What’s your favorite word? I am a lover of words, so all words are my favorite.
What’s your favorite meal to cook? My mother was known for her sweet potato pie, and so that’s what I love to do, bake the sweet potato pie. I remember the first time that I made it, I was so proud that they came out and didn’t burn up. You know that I had my mother taste it. Of course, she wasn’t going to tell me to my face that it tastes almost like hers, but she told my sister that it did, and I was so proud to know that I followed her recipe. She always said anybody can cook as long as they can read a recipe. I was so nervous taking the pie over there because I was like, will it live up to her legend? And it did. I just continued to perfect it, and I just love baking.
What’s the best advice you ever got? Walk slowly and drink a lot of water.
What’s the best part of living in Charlottesville? The small-town feel, especially North Garden, where I was born and raised.
The worst? Lack of diversity.
What’s your favorite place in Charlottesville? My favorite place in North Garden is my home.
Favorite dish at a local restaurant? Believe it or not, I would have to say Guadalajara and their taco salad. It’s crunchy. You see the layers, and you get down to the layers with the sour cream—yeah, that’s probably one of my favorite foods.
Favorite movie? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Favorite song? “Never Gonna Break My Faith” by Aretha Franklin
Who’d play you in the movie of your life? Octavia Spencer
Describe a perfect day for you. Waking up, having time to sit on my porch and listen to the sounds that my Higher Powers are creating.
