In Going Down, author, actor, and web developer David-Graham Parker shares an honest window into a personal chapter of his life set 33 years ago in Australia. This memoir captures the challenges of navigating personal identity alongside military and family expectations during that era.

The pages follow a young man searching for direction. After leaving the RAAF and travelling through Europe, the author boards a Pacific cruise ship while experiencing a severe mental health crisis and questioning his future.

Instead, beneath the surface of the ocean, a completely different perspective unfolds. In a peaceful marine environment, surrounded by diverse aquatic life, the author experiences the vital importance of human connection and mutual reliance through scuba training. Beneath the waves, away from surface pressures, he discovers a sense of freedom and self-acceptance.

Going Down is a moving account of internal battles fought in silence, the vulnerability of coming out to a traditional family, the healing power of parental support, and the journey toward self-acceptance.

Going Down
by David-Graham Parker

A true story of survival, trust, and self-acceptance.

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General Content Advisory & Family Safety Note
  • Family-Safe Tone (G-Rated Content): While Going Down explores the journey of self-acceptance as a gay man, please rest assured that this memoir contains no explicit adult themes or sexual content. It is written to be a respectful, family-safe narrative focusing purely on emotional and personal growth.
  • Themes of Mental Health & Suicidality: This story touches honestly on the author's past internal struggles with severe depression and thoughts of suicide during a difficult chapter of his youth. To protect the well-being of all listeners, there are absolutely no graphic descriptions of suicide attempts or self-harm. The narrative focuses entirely on finding hope, community, and the choice to live.