Loren A. Olsen

Having known many gay and lesbian men and women who cam out later in life, I found this book very enlightening. In this way, it is a very comprehensive view of the myriad issues that all gay people must go through on their journey to acceptance, while also being very specific to a generation that had to grope in the dark and find a path without role models.

Of particular note was that Dr. Olson again and again points out the recurring nature of doubt, confusion and depression that faces gay people. Some people get stuck in one part of this journey or another; others end up using various coping mechanisms that hinder their ability to grow. Because many of these are so clearly outlined in this book, I find it a useful guide to the family and friends of those coming out as much as for adults coming to terms with their own sexuality. I have especially recommended this work to family and friends who are from a more conservative background or from an older generation.

And yet, oddly, I think the audience that can be most helped by this book is younger gay and lesbian people who can have some understanding and sympathy at previous generations and the added struggles they have had in this regard.… (mehr)

I wasn't expecting to connect too much to this subject matter, seeing as i am a younger woman, but I am always for a coming out story. This was so much more than that. Word to word it seemed like a lot to take in, but when you step back you can see the the bigger picture. You can see him answers some huge questions of life with honesty. Its not always easy. I walked away from reading this book with a sense of pride and feeling good about being strong enough and loving yourself enough to BE yourself. About being true to yourself and those you love..

The professional aspect with numbers figures and studies sometimes slowed the pace of reading. But it definitely gave a unique insight. Most of it was things I had never even thought about. The personal aspects were touching. His internal struggles, and pain were heartbreaking.

All in all I really enjoyed the read. It absolutely opened my eyes to new route of thinking and other obstacles that I had never seen or thought of before.… (mehr)

To be honest, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped. As a member of the glbt community and someone with a lay interest in psychology, I had high hopes. It was disappointed by the disjointed nature of the book and gave up about half-way through. I tried hard to get into it, but the combination of different approaches didn't work for me. I wish he had focused either on the psychology or on the stories - - or at least done either for a longer period of time so that you could get more into the narrative.… (mehr)