Aiden, 19Aiden, 19

Aidan was one of dozens and possibly hundreds of young men and women on New Zealand's streets. How do you meet someone in this situation, even if you have such an interest? How do they survive? Why are they in such a position? What are their aspirations? Such citizens of New Zealand are on the margins and few of us get anywhere close to those margins. Aidan's unconventional life story, so far, is a revelation for anyone interested in an aspect of life that is rarely, if ever, revealed with such candour. His story begins in his home town of Christchurch, New Zealand's Garden City in its South Island. His father died when he was four. His mother had her own challenges at that time and as a result, Aidan was left with an aunt, who having been asked to `baby sit' him, did so selflessly for ten years. Having moved to Wellington, New Zealand's capital, at the age of just 16, Aidan soon moved to Auckland, where he lived on the streets of New Zealand's largest city. There he worked out, on his own, how to survive in some of the city's toughest neighbourhoods. You will read of his good and bad decisions. When he makes mistakes, he describes how, with brutal honesty. This story shows how Aidan can now go into shops and offices and not feel out of place. How he can engage with people and not feel he's being judged. How he moved from the streets to his own room in an apartment in Auckland's CBD and then into his own room with a good friend in a lovely townhouse in an Auckland suburb. Aidan has now expanded his friendships to include people who are not necessarily on the margins of New Zealand's society. And most importantly, he has learned that there is something he can do, other than contribute to the sex industry, and that is to write.