Additional information
by Lou Kief (Author)
"Lou is a brilliant storyteller "
- Chris Rayan, Culture Savvy Reviews
IMPACT Magazine
"Those extraordinary times of leather and lashes,
bears and ballerinas, sex, drugs and newly found
freedom leap from the pages."
- Jack Scott, Reviewer, UK
"I would even go so far to say there is an essence of
Armistead Maupin and the most popular Tales of the City"
saga in Lou's writing"
- Jonathan Welford, Reviewer
Manchester, United Kingdom
Some of us live in a world where being yourself can make others
uncomfortable. This is a story about being contented in your own skin,
but it's also a fascinating tale about the history of San Francisco from
the 1849 gold rush through the murders of mayor, George Moscone and
the city's first openly gay politician, Harvey Milk, to the devastation
caused by AIDS. It captures the magic of San Francisco and the area
just north of the city and weaves politics, the jarring events of one man's
personal life and a city's history together from a very earthy and some-
times brutally honest perspective. There is a thread of human kindness
and a real love of humanity that shines through and when you close the
cover you'll do it with a laugh and a tear.
"For anyone who has lived the San Francisco
experience of the 70's, or those who wish they had,
this book is a must read." - Mark Letizia
"It's not often I come across a book which is hard to put down.
"Let No Stranger Wait Outside Your Door", a compelling,
well-written memoir, happens to be one of them."
- Chris Rayan, IMPACT Magazine
Author Biography
Lou Kief was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1945. The son of a carpenter and a self-educated mother, from childhood Lou had an insatiable appetite for writing, designing and building things with his hands. A closeted gay man as a young adult, in the 1960's he ran away to San Francisco and found himself in the middle of the most significant period in the history of gay liberation. Of the many places and times that have set the foundation for American gay rights, Lou was there living through it. He attended summer journalism classes at the University of Detroit and later at San Francisco State University and wrote for trade publications including Harcourt Brace Jovanovich business magazines, Furniture World magazine and the trade journal of the National Home Furnishings Association. From the late l970's on, Lou began to work with retailers across the United States and Canada. In 1990 he was Vice-President of Bryant Forney Associates, a store planning firm in San Francisco before leaving to start his own company with Bill Walls designing and remodeling stores. Lou is a highly regarded motivational speaker and has presented numerous seminars and workshops for the National Home Furnishings and California Home Furnishings associations as well as Furniture Today and the California Vintners Association. Currently he and his partner of 34 years, Bill, live in Guadalajara, Mexico and share a home with Katrina, a huge, not very lady-like Neapolitan Mastiff, Mexi-cats; Diego, Frida & Trotsky, and Rocco, a pushy Amazon Parrot. In 2010 Lou released "In All the Silent Manliness", a novel of family loss and grief. In 2012, he and his partner, Bill Walls co-wrote "Doing Retail Right" to help retailers stay motivated and successful as the worlds of brick and mortar stores began to collide with virtual retailing. The release of "Let No Stranger Wait Outside Your Door" is his memoir about coming out and San Francisco during the 1970s.
