Customer Reviews

Growing Up Gay/Lesbian: A Literary Anthology

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This was good, but not really what I expected to get. The selections are all well chosen, but after reading each of the excerpts I wanted to read more. Maybe that's the purpose. However, I felt like this anthology is just the tip of the iceberg concerning gay/lesbian literature about growing up. Overall--a good summary, but if you're looking for something more in-depth, try reading something else.

I first bought this book about a week after I had come out to my closest friends. I found this book to be a lifeline. I finally felt like I wasn't alone, I wasn't the only one. The book, however, left me with one complaint, that it ended! The stories touch you in a way that is so deeply personal. I found myself identifying with the characters. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone, gay, straight, questioning, whatever. It is worth reading!

The book contains 4 sections and an appendix filled with helpful references.

All bases are covered in this book, with essays, short stories, journal excerpts, letters and poetry. The entries date from the time of Radclyffe Hall's Well of Loneliness and Quentin Crisp's The Naked Civil Servant, up to the 1990's when a brave young man took a male date to his high school senior prom.

Areas covered include self-discovery, friendships and relationships, dealing with one's family, and facing the world.

The entries are well-written and from the heart. I was touched by all of them.

I also feel this book definitely shines the positive light of progress on the lesbian, bi-sexual & gay movement.

This is a cool anthology, combining famous writers' pieces on growing up gay or lesbian with writings by young adults. I really like the variety of kinds of writing -- short stories, poems, essays -- and the diversity of authors. I'd recommend this for anyone going through the coming-out process, as well as family members and others interested in gay/lesbian/bisexual issues. It would also be GREAT for libraries and schools

I remember going to Barnes & Noble in 2002 and walking to the Gay & Lesbian section. I didn't really want anyone to know that I was looking in that section. What do you expect from a 17 year old girl. Thank God for me it was across from the AFRICAN-AMERICAN and WOMEN'S STUDIES sections...whoa! Barnes & Noble really knows how to set it up. I found the book and read the introduction between the the bookshelves. I paid for it and swiftly left the store, hurrying off to work - the little ranky dank job I had where I had the pleasure of playing basketball watching other girls play basketball. lmao!

This is the first GLBT piece that I have ever read. I read it right after I came out. It made me feel so much better to hear stories about people who were going through the same things I was going through. Not only that, it introduced me to several books that are on what I called "GLBT required reading" list.

I'm a little biased - I wrote one of the chapters - but reading the book was a great help for me in my coming out process.